One of the best, low-cost ways to invest in your business skills is to join a Network Marketing company. Regardless of what you have heard about this industry or how much money people have lost there – you can learn there, and this is important.
Basically, you can’t succeed in network marketing with an employee’s mindset - and this is one of the reasons why network company is good. It makes you think "through the things".
You can also develop skills by attaching yourself to an insurance agency. The job may be challenging, but those companies will also teach you the same skills above and maybe even gain a few tips on financial planning as well.
One more niche is Internet business.
Other places you can learn about business skills: financial planning courses, real estate investment courses, time management courses and lots more.
The most important thing of all besides a good learning attitude are the people you mix around with. You are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with.
At the heart of man lies jealousy – only mix with Positive thinking people!
Positive thinking is backed by action and you will feel the energy of people who believe in you and support your dreams. So start looking for people who will follow your vision or are willing to grow together with you.
AND BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!
The task of stepping out of your comfort zone may seem terrifying.
Then you will be faced with the question, is my financial freedom worth the price I am paying now? Can I live another day with the same routine, the same job, the same paycheck or the same drudgery?
If the answer is no, then take action NOW. Not tomorrow, you will wake up and forget about your dream.
The defensive strategy for the people who are in a financial mess is to cut down what you are already spending on.
You don’t have a possibility to start any business being in a financial mess. You need to have lots of cash flow coming from your pockets if you are going to succeed.
Here are some things you can cut down on
• Smoking
• Alcohol
• Night outs
• Gambling
• Vacation and Country Clubs
• Food
• Laziness
Most important of all, don’t buy anything that constitutes a liability. A liability is anything that takes money out of your pocket no matter what they are worth in the future.
So, think in terms of cash flow. What can I invest in today that will give me funds tomorrow?
And the next post is about to explain the offensive strategies of getting out from the money mess.
Having good financial IQ is not about saving tons of money or dumping them into mutual funds. It is developing a healthy relationship with money and building a wealth of assets that will generate you money.
How to develop your financial IQ?
Delayed gratification is one of the most important aspects to developing your financial IQ. Take this as a hypothetical example – would you pay for a pint of milk or a cow? Do you see the idea?
EVERYONE is capable of creating wealth. When you take a beat up old car and give it an overhaul, paint it with a new coat of paint, and change a few more parts to make it start running again, you could sell that car for more money than if it was just a beat up old car. You would have created wealth in the process!
It is the same principle for chefs, computer programmers and craftsmen. The sum of the whole is greater than the parts. We are all capable of creating wealth even out of thin air and that is the first step to getting our creative juices flowing.
The value of anything is defined by supply and demand. You don’t need to have a Major in economics to grasp it. Money is just an idea and the true measurement of money is not the cents or dollars it represents.
Bottom-line:
Invest in assets that bring long term value. Anything that brings you more income is an asset.
Even houses are not considered assets until they are fully paid off (If you lost your job tomorrow and you can’t pay for your house, is your house an asset or liability?)
Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone and pay the price for financial IQ or ignore the signs of the times and expect your boss, the government and the bank to take care of you financially for the rest of your life, living below your means and never taking risks to better your family’s future?
Ok, let’s learn to get out of the financial mess…
What Does Investing Mean To People?
What is the first idea that comes to your mind when you think about investing? Putting your money in insurance, mutual funds, the stock market or even high-yield investments?
Possible, and some of the strategies will give you profits, but the truly best thing to do is to…
Invest in Yourself
This is your No.1 rule to success. The education you got paid by the parents is just the basic stuff provided and does not teach you important lessons about financial education. Most colleges only teach you skills so you can earn money working for other people.
Would your boss teach you how to succeed in business so that one day, you will be in his position?
You understand that there is just one person who is truly interest it you – that is YOU. And YOU have to be proactive enough to take that responsibility
You see, when you invest in yourself, it means taking on the importance of educating yourself. Education not in the academic or technical sense. Our education doesn’t stop at college.For most working adults education enters retardation stage after they leave college. They stop learning and therefore they stop growing. They only grow sideways from eating too much pizzas or take-out during their busy lunch breaks.
Ok, so what are the ways to grow your financial IQ? Read more in the next post published on the blog.
Everyone wants to make more money, but people are generally split into two categories:
Those who bring results after they are promised wealth first
Or
Those who bring the results first, then are rewarded by others afterwards
Those who only apply efforts after promised big fat paychecks are more like employees, freshmen, or mercenaries.
There is no right or no wrong with this kind of thinking, but – you are trading your precious time for money. Instead of investing your time in an ASSET that generates money, you spend your time working on something that is short term, limited wealth, and does not give you income long after you have stopped working.
Now let’s explore the other group.There are many creative people, inventors, entrepreneurs, and business leaders who fall into this category.
Want to get to the second group? Stop working for money.
When you decide to do that, even without much knowledge you will find the solutions to problems like:
Lack the contacts for running a business? Use your competitor’s customers.
Lack product knowledge? Work with a company that will teach you all the ins and outs of the tricks of the trade.
Not familiar with the production line of a factory? Work in one! Learn the ropes or manage the factory workers.
Fear of talking to people? Get a sales job where you will be forced to talk to lots of people. It is also a great way to develop perseverance!
Surely it is not that easy. Many give up too early before any results can be seen!
So…
Would you trade time for short term money?
Or
Trade time and money for a long term asset that generates you income?
God created us with a brain. All we need to do is look around us and observe problems to overcome because every problem is an opportunity in disguise. The rest is in your hands. Make a very wise choice, be happy with that choice, be persistent and you will be lucky.
There are generally 4 types of people in the world when it comes down to the combination of time and money:
No time, and no money.
Most employees fall into the category. Most employees can’t even save money in their pension to last 3 years!
No time, lots of money.
Self-employed, professionals and small business owners are in this category. They are slightly better off than the employee because they earn more, but they have to work even harder than employees to keep up with the diminishing profit margins, competition and servicing their customers.
Got time, no money.
A lot of farmers, villagers, college dropouts or bums have lots of time but no money. Maybe ignorance is bliss, but without a stable source of income, how long can you last many days forward?
Got time, and lots of money.
It is the category that big business owners, landlords, investors are in. Imagine, not having to work for money, but having money to work for you by investing them and earning profits by using your money to make money.
This blog has nothing against people who are working at a job. But let’s face it – our needs are growing faster than our salaries. There are more baby boomers than ever and have very little pension to show for their decades of years of work efforts.
And there is no guessing to how many people really, really hate the unhealthy lifestyle of coping with stress for most parts of the day on a job with its bosses and bosses-to-be, traffic jams, wasted time in traveling, etc.
Definitely doesn’t paint a nice financial and lifestyle picture?
The first step to change is to be aware of the problem. These are not just words. No magic involved – awareness before change is necessary if you are to make any changes in life to start taking control of your financial life and then get out of the rat race. When you are aware, your mind starts thinking in a new way, it sends new type of impulses and attracts new opportunities.
We need the awareness to know what state we are in so we know where we are going. Read the next post which shows how smart playing with time and money makes people rich.
Ok – Big Money – What is That?
It is a form of measurement.
Yes, but a measurement of what? Wealth? In the olden days, people measured wealth by how many cows, sheep and horses they had. But do people measure wealth today by your cows and horses? How about slaves? Was there a time where manpower is considered a hot commodity? Are slaves worth anything today? Are your dollar bills sitting in the bank going to protect you if a recession strikes the country? No, wealth can not be measured by the dollar bill.
It is a form of power.
Yes, money can give you power, but if you are stuck on a desert island forever with a trillion dollars, will that money mean squat to you? If someone offered you water and a helicopter to fly out of there, you would trade all your money in a split second, so money is not an accurate measurement of power – it heavily depends on how and wisely you use it.
It is the root of all evil.
Money is NOT the root of all evil – otherwise, why do you think churches still accept monetary donation and charity? The love of money is the root of all evil. Because money is an excellent servant but a terrible master.
And unless you have proper financial intelligence, the lack of money can spawn a lot of evil thinking and negative mindset as observed in primarily cheats, thieves, criminals, breakups, freeloaders, cheapskates, and more to name.
But what is big money, really?
Money is an idea, backed by confidence. Money today is literally invented by the rich and wealthy.
Entrepreneurs are willing to part with their money to buy other people’s time. Other people’s time i.e. employees and self-employed people becomes their employer’s asset and the employers this priceless resource to go on to create more wealth for themselves.
As long as you work for money, you are enslaved by it!
What we don’t realize is that there is a part of our soul that cannot be bought at whatever price. Would you chop off your little finger if your boss offered you 24 months of your salary immediately? You and I know we are worth more than that. But you see – if that would not be a finger, but other, less painful asset?
Do you see the point?
A lot of things should be considered of when it comes to investing, no matter how you are going to take order with your money: send your children to college or make savings for your eventual retirement. Investments are important if we want to have a respected retirement for ourselves or good education for our children. If we decide to step back and have no risk we seriously confine ourselves to our potential income. Thus you should figure out what mistakes have been made to avoid them in future and not put at risk your future investments.
No absolutes – this rule you should remember very well. It means that there is no absolute right or wrong method of investing just as there is no right or wrong way to save your money. The only right way to think about it is that there are the methods that you are only more or less comfortable with. The good news is that there are a lot of different options from which to choose in order to keep your portfolio diverse and, more importantly, profitable.
These days there are many venues to pursue for an investor. You may choose stocks, bonds, mutual funds, property investing, and many categories of each of these in between. If you feel uncomfortable in some areas then you should think of seeking a financial planner so he could help you get through these areas. There is no reason because of which you should pursue any one course of investing over another if you are still uncomfortable with certain types of investing after speaking with a planner. The less risky course might be the wiser course of action but not necessarily the correct one for you as you are likely to make mistakes out of nervousness rather than allowing the fund to do their job and make money for you.
What is also important that you shouldn`t invest in companies, bonds, funds, etc for any reason other than you feel they can give a good return on your investment or you really want to support that particular company. There is no good to be pressured while deciding on investment that you are not comfortable with unless you are having a hard time risking your money at all. However sometimes you will need to take some risks if you wish to get the returns that will assure you the proper retirement. The bottom line is that the greater the risks the greater the potential rewards.
You must understand very well that fact that the choices you make when it comes to your investments affect a lot of aspects of your future retirement or your child’s education. So don’t let your fear paralyze your will and mind while you are investing your money into your family future. This fear and distress are pretty usual for people when handling funds that will have such a massive effect on your future and that of your family. Thus don`t hesitate and work with financial advisor or planner in this direction so he or she could put it all together and give your funds the right course and direction to move forward.
Certainly, misfortune and bad luck will follow you as well as success when you are investing funds. It is inevitable process. There are no such people who have never lost any money in the stock market. However it is very important to understand that when you lose money even 50 cents it can seem like a tragedy if you allow it to but you should look into the future and always move forward towards success by looking on the bigger picture than one good or bad decision.
Everyone has seen TV commercials, the 30 minute Infomercials late at night, the seemingly endless emails offering governmental grants to start a business, pay the bills, write a book or solve all money problems. In order to acquire this information it is necessary to pay money but there is an opportunity to obtain it for free.
First of all it is important to know the following:
1. According to the Federal Office of Management and Budget, the department that tracks all government spending, 95.7% of all grants are given to county governments, city or township governments, independent school districts, state controlled institutions of higher education, Federally recognized Native American tribal governments, non-profits other than institutions of higher education including community action agencies and other organizations having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, as well as private institutions of higher education and State governments.
The other 4.3% are appropriated for education, job training and vocational rehabilitation.
Do you qualify?
2. There are certain governmental entitlements available, such as social security disability, Medicaid, welfare, low cost housing, child care and etc. Again, do you qualify?
3. The individual states may have some grants available for business startups and expansion, if you are creating jobs! If you plan to open a “bricks and mortar” business that will employ more than five full-time workers, you may likely to get help from your state.
4. If you do find a grant for which you are eligible, get ready to jump through some hoops, flatter and serve influential officials and wait a long time! Even for non-profit organizations and businesses that can employ for up to five or more workers it is very complicated time-consuming process.
For more information on the websites offering governmental grants refer to Google search engine.
It should be noted that most grants are not the answer. The ones that do apply to you are probably very complicated and very competitive to obtain and require further investigation.
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