“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.” (Mr. Micawber, in David Copperfield by Charles Dickens – 1850)

You already know this secret, really.

But maybe you don’t like to think about it.

If you’re trying to improve your financial situation, you need to either:

• Spend less
• Earn more

Even in the post-credit-crunch world, it’s all too easy for us to put items on a credit card. It’s all too easy to run up thousands of dollars of debt – with our spending constantly outstripping our earning.

I know how it feels. At times in my life, I’ve carried on spending and spending, hoping, like Mr. Micawber, that something will “turn up”. But eventually, I’ve had to cut back hard on my spending – knowing that the quick, temporary thrill of spending isn’t worth the months or years of misery that debt can lead to.

You can buy dozens of books on financial management (and I’m sure you’ll learn a lot along the way) – but ultimately, nothing can really help you unless you end up spending less than you’re earning.

Almost all of us can cut back a bit on our spending – and this is often easier than earning more.

Step 1: Figure Out Your Current Position

Maybe you try not to think too much about your spending – you just carry on, and hope for the best. Or maybe you’re already trying to cut down on what you spend – perhaps by eating out less often, or buying generic products rather than branded ones.

Either way, you’ll find it really helpful to figure out your current position. How much are you spending every month? And how much of that is essential (e.g. rent, electricity) verses non-essential (e.g. TV, broadband connection, gym membership)?

By keeping track of what you spend over a month or so, you’ll almost certainly find a few surprises. The first time I did this, I was really shocked by how much I could spend in a (quite sedate!) afternoon and evening out. Little costs – coffees, sandwiches, drinks – can really add up fast.

Step #2: Work Out What to Cut Back On

Once you’ve been tracking your spending for a month, start going through this list. Cut out things one by one until your spending is less than your monthly income:

• Anything which you didn’t need to buy and didn’t really want to buy. Can you cut this out altogether?
• Anything which you wanted but which didn’t really bring you all that much pleasure. Was it really worth $39.99 for that new computer game that you’ve barely played?
• Anything expensive which you needed but which you could cut back on. If your rent is really high, could you move? If you spent $200 on clothes, could you get something just as functional for $50?

I wouldn’t recommend trying to cut out everything but the bare essentials – there’s nothing wrong with spending money on things which you enjoy. The trick is to stick to a few purchases which you really want, rather than chucking cash away on stuff which doesn’t matter to you.

Step #3: Create a Budget

I don’t believe that a budget needs to be fiddly or complicated. All you need to do is work out what you should be spending in different categories. Some costs will be fixed (e.g. rent, and some bills) – others will fluctuate.

You might want to use an envelope system: take out cash each week for your variable costs, and divide it into envelopes for:

• Groceries
• Household supplies
• Entertainment / eating out

…and so on.

You can only spend the money in that envelope – leave your cards at home. You can carry money over to the next week (or month) or even transfer it between envelopes – but you can’t go over your total budget limit.

Step #4: Take Care of the Money You Save

If you’re in debt, you can put your savings towards paying it off. It’s also worth considering an emergency fund – sudden, unexpected expenses do crop up from time to time, often at the worst possible moment. If you’ve got $500 or $1,000 tucked away in the bank, you can cope with emergencies without having to rely on credit.

If you’re not in debt and have a healthy emergency fund, make sure you put your savings into a safe place, like a separate bank account. There’s not much point keeping a budget and watching your spending if you end up blowing it all at the end of the month.

Remember – the one true secret of financial happiness is spend less than you earn.

How could you start doing that this week? (And if you’re managing your finances well, we’d love to hear your tips in the comments!)

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“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.

Whether it be a government loan, a small business loan from a bank, or putting up collateral for a loan, you are again working for the existing power brokers, and you may be living a semblance of your dream, but you are still working for the bank, the landlord (lease on commercial property), or the government (small business loan or grant and the following their rules).

SOLUTION: Self-funded Creative Business Model. Invest in your own talent and build income using the Creative Business Model. With the Internet, websites can be built for free and hosted for free. Mean- while, you can develop a client base and hone your talent. As you make income invest it in equipment, (laptop, camera, training, net- working). This way you do not borrow thousands of dollars and invest it unwisely. Stair-step your business gradually, building it naturally, rather than forcing it with branded marketing and mass-created need.

This is the competitive business model that subscribes to the belief system that “it takes money to make money,” since they are in the business to make money from interest payments. Only if you are forcing a need onto the marketplace and creating a product or service that is not coming from heart and soul will you need to borrow money to make a business viable. Your gifts and talents are viable because you are you and you are viable. Work with the “Self-funded Creative Business Model, more info at www.UniversityofSelfEmployment.com. This may take months and years and decades to come to its fullness. The Powers that Be have been working at it for generations. Think about how many years of education, on-the-job training, and servitude you have invested in someone else’s vision. Instead start investing in yourself and the creative business model.

Deborah S Nelson is a guest blogger for PickTheBrain and the founder of Author Your Dreams Publishing

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10 Money Myths That Keep You From Making Big Money: Myth 1

10 Money Myths That Keep You From Making Big Money: Myth 2

10 Money Myths That Keep You From Making Big Money: Myth 3

10 Money Myths That Keep You From Making Big Money: Myth 4

“I Can’t Do My (business, art, purpose, mission) Without Funding First!”

This is probably the number one money myth that drives us away from living our dreams, passions, and true talent and consequently realizing abundant wealth from those gifts and inspiration. And it is not only a major money myth, but it is a big fat convenient excuse keeping you from investing in yourself.

I know that many of you are going to be totally offended at this one. But if you really want to live your purpose, your gift, your talent— nothing, and I mean nothing, should stop you or distract you. The biggest myth that Power Brokers Perched atop the Mountain of Money (most all of it paid to them by us); is that you must have funding to accomplish your dreams. There is only room for one real dream and that’s theirs.

Now, if you play along, you can participate in “the Pre- defined American Dream,” which is the so-called freedom of a job, a home (owned by the bank) and social-security retirement, with Medicare health insurance (mostly consisting of prescription drug ad- diction in old age). At the risk of sounding angry, let me clarify that I am not. We are responsible for our participation, and I am simply speaking truth.

What about your own unique dream? What about your purpose? What about your deeply held talents and passions? You start asking these questions and “Power & Money Brokers” have an answer for you…”Get funding.” We’ll loan you the money and you can pay us (argh), interest! (again). If you jump through the right hoops, (mostly hoops that require traditional employment) we will give you a small business loan, an art stipend, or an educational grant (with interest).

The reality here is you spend 75–90% of your time jumping through the red-tape hoops, paying interest, or not even being able to qualify for these—because the goal is to keep you (and everyone) in the work force. If somehow you manage to break away and get the funding, however, you are still going to pay “them” interest for the loan, or jump through red-tape hoops for the grant, and therefore will be ineffective in your real purpose. You are still working for them, and their dreams—not yours.

SOLUTION: Make a commitment to your dreams. Not theirs, whoever “they are.” Start going deep inside to find out what your true dreams and talents are. Start investing now in your own dreams. Make a plan and a strategy to see those dreams come true. Do not be de- railed from your dreams by the myth that you need funding or money first in order to see your dreams come true.

Your dream is not dependent on the system of money, which is maintained and perpetuated by those who are in a not-so-generous crowd. Your dreams are dependent on your passion and your personal power and your commitment to fulfill them. The money, financing, and resources will come once you step out and get started. Do not wait on their money or on them who have the money!
Use the Power of the Pen. Write them down in a journal or create a dream board, or vision board. Better yet, publish your own dream plan book (Dreams to Reality Curriculum, by Deborah S. Nelson, www.AuthorYourDreams.com)

Deborah S Nelson is a guest blogger for PickTheBrain and the founder of Author Your Dreams Publishing

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Are you nailing job interviews, closing new clients, and maximizing every meeting? Most likely you aren’t, but I’ll show you how I blew a huge meeting and what you can learn from my mistakes.

Bottom line . . . you need to prepare for key meetings. It doesn’t matter if you are on an interview, auditioning for a TV show, meeting a prospect for your business, or trying to get your kid into a swanky private school. It doesn’t matter if the meeting is at your office or theirs. You need to invest some of your other 8 hours into preparing for your big meetings.

Why? It’s simple. If you don’t prepare for a meeting, someone else will control it. If you have something important to say, you might not get the chance to share it. And when I say “control,” I don’t mean some Machiavellian thing where you need to dominate the discussion. Control the meeting means you know what you want to say and that you navigate the discussion to make sure your key points are addressed.

Here’s my story . . . a couple of months ago I blew a big opportunity because I didn’t prepare for a meeting. It was such a unique opportunity that I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Sadly, I came to the conclusion that I’ve been blowing meetings for a long time. It’s easy to dismiss the small ones, but let me tell you, it’s much harder to forget he big ones — they will haunt you.

One of my favorite sayings is “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” For an always-planning productivity nut like me, I’ve relished this quote. It is one of the things that has kept me going.

So how did I blow this big opportunity? Ironically, I didn’t prepare for a key meeting. I thought I could wing it. I couldn’t.

The meeting started great. Nailed the pleasantries. Discussed my background with confidence. I was even witty! “This is going great,” I remember thinking. And then the questions came. Uh, questions?! Hum . . . I guess I should have expected some of these, but alas, I didn’t.

So I did what anyone would have done, I fired back answers — one after another. I was on. Give me another! You think that’s a good question? Bam! Take that!

This went on for a good 30 minutes. The meeting ended, we shook hands, and I walked back to my car feeling good. It’s an hour plus drive from Los Angeles to Orange County, and all I could do was think about the meeting. When I left LA I felt on top of the world, but an hour later as I exited the freeway, I was feeling like a schmuck.

I relived the entire meeting several times, and each time I thought of something I should have said — not just little tweaks here and there, but changes that would have been 100x better than what I actually said.

And how long did it take me to come up with these great answers? About 30 minutes. Yup, just 30 minutes. I preach using the other 8 hours to create new wealth and purpose, and I didn’t invest 30 minutes preparing for a huge opportunity that would have created new wealth and purpose for me. Schmuck, indeed.

The next day I got the call I was expecting . . . “Thanks so much for coming, but we are going in a different direction.” I deserved that. I really did. But, I promise I will not blow another opportunity because I’m not prepared.

Here are nine tips I will use to prepare for my next big meeting that you can use, too:

1. Determine the “one thing.” Never go into a meeting without a crystal clear purpose. Answer this question to determine the purpose: “After the meeting is over, what has to happen for me to feel happy with the result?” This “one thing” will be your destination to which everything else should lead.
2. Focus on three talking points. You want to avoid “diarrhea of the mouth” as one of my teachers used to say. In other words, don’t blather on and on about every single idea or thought you have. Go into the meeting with just three ideas, thoughts, or points that support your “one thing” and focus the entire meeting around these.
3. Be a politician. Ever notice when politicians are asked a question they always seem to steer the answer to their main talking points? This can be annoying when the answer has little to do with the question, so I’d make sure that you answer the question, but then immediately follow it up with one of your talking points.
4. Create sound bites. Flip on any news broadcast or read any newspaper and you will see the sound bite in action. A sound bite is a short quote used by the media to summarize an important point or add flavor to their story. President Obama can give an hour speech, but the six-second snippet you see on CNN is the sound bite.A good speechwriter will know which two or three sound bites will make the news the next day, and if you want to create maximum impact with your meetings, you will want to create a few of your own sound bites.
5. Create an agenda. If possible, create a physical agenda that is centered around your “one thing” and supports your talking points. She who creates the agenda, almost always controls the meeting. Starting out in my career, I’d always create the agenda — even if I didn’t call the meeting. I was always surprised when executives much more senior than me would strictly follow the agenda. By creating the agenda, I controlled the meeting.
6. Nail the intro and the close. I can’t stress this enough. Go in with a strong opening and you’ll feel more confident throughout. Make sure it covers your main talking points. Also make sure you have a strong close that reiterates your main talking points. Don’t wing this.
7. Call to action. What is the action you want your meeting attendees to take? What action must they take for you to feel happy with the meeting? Most meetings end and nobody is sure what the next steps are. Make sure everyone knows exactly what the next action is.
8. After the meeting. Just because the meeting ends doesn’t mean your job is over. Often it is just getting started. Make sure you follow-up with key attendees. Send an email or write a note. And of course, make sure you subtly reinforce your “one thing” and talking points.
9. Listen. Last, but arguably most important, listen. Don’t be so wired to your talking points that you turn into a robot spewing forth canned lines. It’s a meeting, not a presentation. It needs to be dynamic.

I’ve forgiven myself for blowing my big meeting, but when you use your other 8 hours effectively, it’s surprising how often “big” opportunities present themselves. Next time, I’ll follow my own advice and nail it.

For a limited time, you can download several free resources (assessment, poster, audio interview, video, and more) at www.other8hours.com and learn more about my new book, The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth and Purpose.

To make money or to create Abundance, what’s the difference? Seems like a minor distinction, doesn’t it?

On the surface it is. However, after exploring the subject of abundance in depth, I woke up this morning with an epiphany.

Trying to deliberately make money, doesn’t work.

Correction. It works enough to fool us into thinking we can deliberately make money, but as it turns out; we are only chasing it. It teases us into thinking that “making money” is an actual skill. On a certain level that’s true, but only if you have the printing press to print it!

Here’s the problem. Once we start chasing money, it runs away, doesn’t it? We get into a cycle of thinking we need money, we want money, money will make us rich, we deserve money, money rescues us from poverty, jail, and debt, money will scare the wolves and the vultures away.

And that’s all true. But that is not the mindset we need to “attract true wealth to us.” That is not using “The Law of Attraction, but instead is the very mindset that chases the money away! Yet I find myself so instantly there. Often. And then I remember.

If we truly desire to be wealthy, and that is a noble desire, and yet it still seems “out of range,” let’s recall the distinction between “making money,” and Creating Abundance.

I admire the writing of Wallace D Wattles, author of The Science of Getting Rich. He teaches the difference between the competitive mindset and the creative mindset.

The competitive mindset makes the assumption that there is not enough, ever.
The creative mindset makes the assumption there is an infinite amount of whatever is needed when it’s needed, forever. Wattles calls it “the thinking stuff.”

This explains the unhappy millionaire because he’s not yet a billionaire—he is in the competitive mindset. This explains all of us chasing the money that runs away from us.

Do we fail to spot our true wealth, for chasing the money that laughs and chides us? Do we race ourselves exhausted right past our riches? Definitely.

We need only click the remote from the “competitive station” where plots and programs are all about chasing money, fighting wolves and beating off pecking vultures stealing it from you; to the creative network of inspirational thinking stuff where true and lasting, infinite abundance abounds forever.

Stop competing and stop chasing. Change from the competitive station to the creative network—and leave it on the channel where lasting wealth and true abundance abound!

Deborah S Nelson is a guest blogger for PickTheBrain and the founder of Author Your Dreams Publishing

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Image courtesy of Tim Hussin/Meanderings

Your financial life has a certain trajectory — similar to a train on a track. There will be twists and turns, but you can easily determine where you will end up if you stay on the financial track you’re currently on. What if the traditional methods of working hard, cutting expenses, and saving don’t work for you? Brown bagging it every day won’t cause you to jump tracks and end up somewhere completely different. The guy living in the mansion overlooking the ocean didn’t buy that house by clipping coupons, and the woman passing you in a $400,000 Maybach didn’t get that way by eliminating her morning latte. For most of us, the gap between where we are and where want to be is so wide that we’ll never be able to close it by following traditional financial advice.

What’s the solution? If you’re tired of scraping by you’ve got to create. If you want to move out of your apartment or make more than minimum wage, you’ve got to create. If you want a big house overlooking the ocean, to travel first class, to quit your job, or to drive your dream car, guess what? The answer is in the other 8 hours. The answer is to shift from being a full-time consumer to being a part-time Cre8tor.

A what? A Cre8tor is a creative entrepreneur who has a day job but wants more. She isn’t content with the status quo, and is less than thrilled with the thought of working another 40+ years. She knows that the only way to “jump the tracks” to get to a new financial level is to do something different during the other 8 hours. A Cre8tor utilizes his strengths, passions, and/or expertise to create something unique and valuable — maybe he’ll start a blog, work on an invention, write a screenplay, or start a business. If you settle for a paycheck, you’ll only be worth what your employer pays you. But if you create something valuable, there’s virtually no limit to your worth.

A long commute, brainless boss, and an empty bank account can wreak havoc on your outlook, hope, and purpose, but a side project or venture can bring inspiration to your life. When you’re passionate about what you’re creating during the other 8 hours, you can endure even the worst day.

Creating provides purpose and it provides a reason to get out of bed in the morning. It provides the hope that life can improve. When you create, it engages your mind and your soul.

With very few exceptions, anybody who has attained any level of financial success has created something. It might be a book, a CD, an invention, a website, or whatever. Look around you. Everything you see was originally just an idea in someone’s head.

You are living in the most exciting and mind blowing time we have ever experienced. It is rich with opportunities that literally didn’t exist just a few years ago. Unless your last name was Rockefeller or Carnegie, it used to be incredibly difficult to become rich. Becoming a millionaire wasn’t even a dream or an ambition. It was such an impossibility that it wasn’t worth a moment’s thought.

Because of technology, efficiencies, and a global economy, it’s much easier to become wealthy with much less effort than at any other time in history. As a Cre8tor, you’ll add more excitement and purpose into your life. You will live your passion and make more money.

In future columns I will discuss the top Cre8tor Channels you can plug into to start making more money in the other 8 hours.

You can download several free resources (assessment, poster, audio interview, video, and more) at www.other8hours.com and learn more about my new book, The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth & Purpose.

It’s a complex world, but most of us still manage to get on with it: whatever our job may be, we turn up every day and tackle the challenges that come our way.

When it comes to debt, though, it’s not so straightforward. Many people end up with serious debt problems they just don’t know how to deal with. Why is that?

• It could be because debt’s a complicated subject, full of unfamiliar terms and issues: repayment terms, APRs, early repayment penalties, and so on.
• It could be because we’re content to leave the details to the lenders. At the end of the day, it’s often tempting to assume that one set of terms and conditions is much like another – so all we want to know is ‘Can I borrow the money or not?’
• It could be because it’s just too easy to get credit – or at least it was until the credit crunch occurred. There are too many people who simply have too many debts: multiple credit cards, multiple store cards, an overdraft, a personal loan, a couple of hire purchase deals…
• It could be because we leave it too long before we look for debt advice.

In short, it’s easy to see how so many people who can cope with life’s other challenges still have a hard time coping with debt.

Is it worth getting debt advice?

If you’re in debt and you don’t know what to do about it, you should talk to someone who does know. To a professional debt adviser, debt isn’t something to think about once a month – and then try to forget about. It’s something they deal with all day, every day.

Whatever debt problems you’re facing, you’ll find that the right debt adviser has dealt with them before, and is able to give you some practical guidance on how to tackle them.

It might be something as simple as learning to make better use of your money – learning to budget effectively so you can be sure you’re not buying ‘luxury’ goods and services with money you really need to be putting towards your debt.

If your debt problems are more serious and/or you’ve already cut your non-essential spending down to a minimum, you might need to think about the various debt solutions that could help you sort your finances out.

Either way, a good way to find out what your options are is to get some professional debt advice from someone who does it all the time. In general, the sooner you do it, the sooner you’ll be able to start making some headway on your debts – put it off and you might find you’ve missed the ‘window of opportunity’ to bring your debts back under control without making any major changes to the way you live your life.

What Happens Next?

A debt expert will be able to examine your finances and propose the best solution for your situation. Common solutions include IVAs, debt consolidation loans and debt management plans. Each have their advantages and disadvantages which a debt professional will be able to inform you of.

IVA

An IVA or individual Voluntary Arrangement is legally binding and it works on the idea that you pay back as much as you can reasonably afford and then have the rest written off. The period you are likely to be paying back the debt, if agreed with your creditors will be 5 years. If both parties agree, the lender will agree not to pursue any legal actions against the borrower and write off the debt once the IVA has reached its conclusion.

Debt Management

A debt management plan involves liaising with lenders to lower monthly payments to ensure you will actually be able to afford the repayments and start paying off the debt. Depending on the type of creditor, they may also agree to freeze interest charges. By seeking debt help you will allow a professional to negotiate on your behalf. They have years of experience in dealing with lenders and will also take care of all the administrative work, phone calls and letters.

Debt Consolidation

This involves combining all of your monthly payments into one affordable monthly payment, making it easy to manage. You will also know exactly when the repayments end meaning you will know when you will become debt free.

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Image courtesy of Stephen Barnwell.

I was in an “on-line forum” the other day when someone asked the question, “How do you increase your income?” The person asking the question was no longer working their “day-job,” and was seeking to make money in other ways.

This person was making a few dollars each week teaching kids how to play basketball, but was looking to make additional money.

The Solution

In order to increase your income, you must increase your value; “YOU” must become more valuable.

By becoming more valuable you will increase your “socially perceived value;” the value society believes you provide, for this, society will owe you a debt. What is money but a social debt, it represents the value you’ve provided thus far; what society owes you. You take that social debt (i.e. money) and then purchase whatever you desire in exchange for the debt.

Let’s Recap: You exchange your time to become valuable, which in turn allows you to purchase things that you value. Before you can purchase things that you value, you must provide others with what they value.

Your salary represents the monetary value you are able to extract from the world. If you make a $100,000 a year, that means society believes that you provide $100,000 of monetary value annually. In order to make more money, you need to increase society’s perspective on your value.

How does a basketball player provide more value?

A basketball player creates more value by becoming a better basketball player; by becoming more valuable himself. He spends his spare time practicing to become “the best” at what he does. He practices when everyone else is taking time-off. He plays with players who are better than he is; he studies and learns how to “out-shine” the competition. He spends his time sharpening his skills. By doing this, he becomes increasingly valuable, and he will make more money.

How does a comedian provide more value?

By becoming a better comedian; he or she spends their time listening to other comedians. They learn from the most successful. While others are sleeping they’re awake writing jokes that have never been heard before. They become more valuable by offering the world something that it’s never seen before. Scarcity makes valuable.

How do I provide more value?

I provide more value by listening to other self-development teachers (iron sharpens iron); I listen to at least an hour of self-development everyday. When I write, I’m writing from what I’ve learned after listening to dozens of other teachers, and hundreds of books. Every book I read makes me more valuable. I know that if my focus is narrow and constant, eventually, I will become one of the greatest self-development teachers.

Enough Value to Make a Living

In order to provide enough value to make a good living, you have to dedicate your time to becoming the best at what you do.

As a first step in becoming the best, you need to commit to “be” your personal best. Honestly ask yourself right now, “Am I giving my very best to what I’m doing, am I giving my all, am I the best version of myself?” I often ask myself these questions, and the answers are not always “positive ones;” when the answers aren’t positive, I begin to look for ways to give my all.

Walter Cronkite said, “I can’t imagine a person becoming a success who doesn’t give this game of life everything he’s got.”

You must empty yourself into your “task” in order to create real value….

Time

It takes time to provide value, when a basketball player first starts playing basketball in elementary school, he doesn’t get paid. It’s not until years later, when we has perfected his skills, and his talent is rare, that he can get paid for the entertainment value he provides.

You must utilize your “time” to make yourself increasingly valuable so that you can command a higher price tag. The more you study, the more you learn, the more time you dedicate to your passion, the more valuable you will become.

This is why you should never quit sharpening your skills, sharpen them often and daily. Eventually you will become very valuable.

That’s why you should do what you love, because you’re going to be doing it for a while before you succeed.

Finally, it’s not enough to just be valuable

I could be the greatest basketball player in the world, but if know one knows about it, what good would it be. Will I get paid for being a great basketball player? Of course not.

Once you’ve become valuable, you need to showcase that value to the world using leverage (e.g. open up a basketball camp and let everyone know about it); now you’re providing real value; and society will gladly pay to see that value. As the quote goes, set yourself on fire and people will come to see you burn! Thank you for reading.

Mr. Self Development is a guest blogger for PickTheBrain. For more information visit Mr. Self Development; just reading his blog will raise your prosperity consciousness, expand your mind, and challenge you to live the abundant life.

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The people heard it, and approved the doctrine, and immediately practiced the contrary, just as if it had been a common sermon; for the vendor opened, and they began to buy extravagantly, notwithstanding all his cautions.

Franklin knew that knowing the right way to live is much easier than living the right way. Being industrious and frugal each and every day is a tough task, one that most people will never master. It takes an enormous amount of self-discipline and perseverance to become wealthy and successful. Most people who read these posts and the Way to Wealth will agree with the advice but will soon forget it and go on making foolish decisions. This isn’t going to change; people can’t be helped that don’t want to help themselves.

But I also believe there are a lot of people who want to help themselves but have lost sight of the right way to live. I know from experience that a person can be influenced by a negative environment without realizing it. The consumer culture of America incessantly pushes us to buy things we don’t need. We waste our time because we are constantly distracted by media. It is now more difficult than ever to be industrious and frugal. I wrote these posts with the hope that a person who has problems with idleness and extravagance might read them and start to rethink their lives. Up until recently I have always been a very lazy person. After reading the Way to Wealth I started to rethink my mentality. I realized that I’d been trapped by a pessimistic apathetic state of mind. It took a long time to break my old habits but I have steadily improved my productivity and attitude. The old me would never have made this website.

I am still tempted by laziness everyday, but recognizing my own weakness allows me to overcome it. Being industrious is addictive. It fills me with confidence and inspiration. We all have more energy than we believe. After you take the first step to improve your life you build momentum every day. If you want to make that step, take the wisdom of the Way to Wealth to heart. You will certainly profit from it.

However, it is important to remember that we are tiny beings at the mercy of fortune. On this Franklin said:

Do not depend too much upon your own industry, and frugality, and prudence, though excellent things, for they may all be blasted without the blessing of heaven; and therefore ask that blessing humbly, and be not uncharitable to those that at present seem to want it, but comfort and help them.

I can’t help wanting to emulate Franklin. Best of luck to you in your search for wealth and success. We all need it.

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Ben Franklin’s Way to Wealth – Part I Industry

Ben Franklin’s Ways to Wealth – Part II Frugality

The second section of the Way to Wealth imparts the importance of frugality. It isn’t enough just to earn money, you have to be smart about what you do with it. In this collection of sayings Franklin describes how a lack of frugality will cause financial ruin and describes the temptations that lead people to spend foolishly.

1. A man may, if he knows not how to save as he gets, keep his nose all his life to the grindstone, and die not worth a groat at last
2. Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship
3. Buy what thou hast no need of, and before long thou shalt sell thy necessaries
4. A fat kitchen makes a lean will
5. Many estates are spent in the getting, Since women for tea forsook spinning and knitting, And men for punch forsook hewing and splitting.
6. Think of saving as well as of getting: the Indies have not made Spain rich, because her outgoes are greater than her incomes
7. Women and wine, game and deceit, Make the wealth small, and the wants great.
8. What maintains one vice, would bring up two children
9. Who dainties love, shall beggars prove
10. Fools make Feasts, and wise men eat them
11. Buy what thou hast no need of, and before long thou shalt sell thy necessaries

So many people are left poor because they are extravagant. Frugality is different than cheapness. Frugality is spending wisely and avoiding unnecessary expenses. Do you ever eat out when you could cook, buy new clothes when your old ones are fine, or buy expensive electronics you don’t really need? This undermines all the hard work you do! To build wealth you must save the money you earn.

1. Wise men learn by others’ harms, fools scarcely by their own
2. Silks and satins, scarlet and velvets, put out the kitchen fire
3. Ploughman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees
4. Always taking out of the meal-tub, and never putting in, soon comes to the bottom
5. When the well’s dry, they know the worth of water
6. If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some
7. He that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing
8. Fond pride of dress, is sure a very curse; E’er fancy you consult, consult your purse.
9. Pride is as loud a beggar as want, and a great deal more saucy.
10. When you have bought one fine thing you must buy ten more, that your appearance maybe all of a piece
11. Tis easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow it
12. Great estates may venture more, But little boats should keep near shore.
13. Pride that dines on vanity sups on contempt
14. Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy

When people get some money they feel an urge to go spend it. We want to keep up with our friends and neighbors so we go and buy the finest clothes and the newest gadgets. One new purchase leads to another. To become wealthy, you need to overcome your pride and live humbly.

1. But what madness must it be to run in debt for these superfluities!
2. When you run in debt; you give to another power over your liberty
3. The second vice is lying, the first is running in debt
4. Lying rides upon debt’s back
5. Poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue: ’tis hard for an empty bag to stand upright
6. Creditors are a superstitious sect, great observers of set days and times
7. Those have a short Lent who owe money to be paid at Easter
8. The borrower is a slave to the lender, and the debtor to the creditor
9. Disdain the chain, preserve your freedom; and maintain your independency: be industrious and free; be frugal and free
10. For age and want, save while you may; No morning sun lasts a whole day
11. Gain may be temporary and uncertain, but ever while you live, expense is constant and certain
12. Tis easier to build two chimneys than to keep one in fuel
13. Rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt.
14. Get what you can, and what you get hold;’Tis the stone that will turn all your lead into gold

The stupidest thing you can do is borrowing money unless absolutely necessary. By doing so, you make the creditor your master and pay much more in the long run. Get over your pride and drive that beat up car for a few more years. Live in a smaller house than your wealthy friends. If you live beyond your means you will pay for it.

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Ben Franklin’s Way to Wealth – Part III Conclusion

Ben Franklin’s Way to Wealth – Part I Industry