Set your mind and attract money

Money can be yours! Never doubt it! If you are one of those people who have suffered lack and deprivation, you will know the value of money. You should not only need money; you should have all you require! That's easy to say, but how to obtain the money you need? This is the question.

Of primary importance is your belief in the availability of money, which means the end of defeating thought that there isn't enough money to go around. We tend to let circumstances dictate to us. We see lack, hear of lack, and subsequently in lack. Then we experience lack. But even as we experience lack, the source of riches and plenty is still intact, still overflowing, seeking an outlet. You can be that outlet. As you go about your daily life, believe you are in the presence of the wealth-source. Rechannel yourpower of belief and believe that the Giver of All is right here with you, knows your needs, wishes you well, and delights in supplying you with whatever you want. First and foremost, reactivate your power of belief.

Tithing: Should this be part of your wealth building?

Aside from all the wealth accumulating disciplines that you can adapt and execute, I think this is something even deeper in a sense that it dwells in the subject of spirituality. Ask science and the answer is probably “No”. Ask the church and they’ll say “Yes”. Before we go on to this kind of argument, let us try to define what tithing means. Tithing is a voluntary contribution in the form of cash, goods or in kind. The word “Tithe” was derived from an Old English word meaning “Tenth”. It was believed in the early times that one-tenth of what you earn or something should be paid (usually voluntary) for tax or levy. Often times, it was done to support Christian religious organizations. Some interpretations of Biblical teaching conclude that although tithing was practiced intensively in the Old Testament, it was never practiced or taught in the first-century church. Instead the New Testament scriptures are seen as teaching the concept of “freewill offerings” as a means of supporting the church. Today, though we don’t really have any concrete evidence if this is true nor could we say this is non-sense. I have encountered people who have been saying that their lives have literally changed financially when they’ve religiously adopted tithing. On the other hand, you can’t blame others to think that these cases were mere coincidences. Have we found and talked to people who were tithing for years and still find it difficult to make both ends meet financially? Wherever this topic may lead us, whether you believe or not, I guess, tithing isn’t really that bad at all. A part of my rational thought says that tithing may not have anything to do with financial reward. Spiritually, I believe that this will do more good than bad. Not only that you enrich your soul but also helping those who are in need somehow gives you a different level of satisfaction. Even if you don’t have that much money in your hands, sharing something in a small way could make a big difference to the lives of the others. Have you tried giving something, like a piece of apple, to somebody you don’t know? See what happens? Congratulations you’ve just earned a new friend, and I mean, that’s your reward. That’s probably the reason behind cause and effect. You reap what you sow as people would say. The Indians believed in good karma. Don’t worry about not giving one-tenth of your earnings or wealth to charity, it depends on what or how much you’d like to share, anyway, it’s the thought that counts. Nowadays, we witness countless billionaires and millionaires who donate huge amount of money for charity as a way of giving back. For those who are religious, you know that God will take care of you and will give back everything in ten-folds if you do tithing. For the non-believers, sharing or helping others won’t hurt at all. Besides, you can’t bring all your money with you when you leave this world.

Double your money

Have you ever heard of such a thing? It's normally what you'd hear banks offer as to entice people to invest with them. They'd usually tell you how long your money will double, and most of the time, it'll take years like 5 years or more. To some, it's always a puzzle on how this thing really works. But if you are really serious to find out, there is a quick way to determine how long it will take to double your money given a certain rate of return. This is called "The Rule of 72". Discovered by the great genius himself, Albert Einstein. If you hope to double an investment earning 8% interest, just divide 72 by the rate of return (72/8) and the answer is (9). Meaning, it will take you 9 years to double your money given an 8% interest, assuming the interest is compounded annually. You may also use the rule of 72 in reverse to determine what rate of return you'll need to double your money given a certain number of years. For instance, if you have $10,000 and want to double it for a brand new car in 6 years, dividing 72 by 6 (72/6=12) will show you that you need a 12% rate of return over six years to earn $20,000, again, assuming the interest is compounded annually.

Becoming a millionaire by just being an employee (Part 3 of 3)

Passion. This is the very engine that drives one to be successful. If you have a strong enthusiasm on something--that's passion. If you have lived long enough with a not-so-good looking spouse--that's passion. I was asked before who I want to be when given a chance, and I answered--Tiger Woods. Why? Because his definition of work is play. But he didn't become rich and popular because he just plays golf. It was his passion to be the best player in the world and the rest followed. Imagine if you're passionate about saving money, your ability to control the temptation of spending is stronger and will help restore balance in your personal financial management. Treat your money the way companies or big corporations treat theirs. When the economy goes bad they immediately go through extreme measures of cost-cutting just to keep their financials positive. You yourself is your own financial manager so be passionate on what you're doing. A person who earns little but knows how to save can make himself richer than the person who earns big but does not know how to save. But of course, there is always a danger when you become addicted to saving. Anything over is bad. If you over-spend it's disastrous; If you over-save, well, you are already depriving yourself on anything. Remember, you are doing this to build your financial security and not your insanity. Reward yourself once in a while. It does not hurt to buy yourself some nice clothes, great food, and small items that are worthy of appreciating life. Even companies do this by giving bonuses and incentives to their employees. You may also try exceeding your savings target for the year and make the excess as your incentive. There are plenty of ways to make saving money interesting while being not so imposing as Hitler. So, if you think you have this ingredient, then you're on your way there.

Patience, discipline and passion are your tools and your job will be the source. With all of these in place, you may now start the building process. Make sure you don't miss out on anything. You can't afford to be like some mediocre body builder who goes to the gym religiously on his first two weeks and then finds it boring and dragging after seeing small results. At first it would really be like that and you have to get past the early stage. When you see the fruits of your labor, that is when you can start being creative. Investing your hard earned savings is another way to speed up your wealth accumulation. I would suggest that you consult a wealth manager to guide you on where to make your money grow as there are different risks involved. Keep it mind that usually investments that offer higher results can also offer higher risks and same goes with the opposite. If you're not too experienced with this, just go with investments that will make you feel comfortable with.

Happy wealth building!

The proper usage of credit cards

1) Charge only what you can reasonably pay off in a few months - Don't allow your credit card balance to grow out of control. If you must use your card for a big-ticket item, make sure you will have the resources to pay off this purchase within a few months. By keeping your balance in check, you will save on interest and finance charges and reduce the risk of getting into financial trouble.
2) Keep track of how much you're charged each month - If you regularly pull out your plastic to pay for laundry, buy magazines, and pay for groceries, you probably don't realize how much of your paycheck is going toward incidental charges you could pay for in cash. You may be surprised when your statement shows a large balance composed mainly of nickel and dime charges. Keep track of your purchases and avoid paying interest on purchases you could have made just as easily with pocket change.
3) Buying it if you had to pay cash? - Using a credit card is convenient--sometimes too convenient. Before you make any unplanned purchase, ask yourself whether you would still buy the item if you had to pull cash out of your wallet instead of plastic. Often, the thrill of "buy now, pay later" makes us more likely to buy things we don't really need.
4) Pay the highest interest rate card first - If you carry more than one credit card, your cards probably have different interest rates. If you're carrying a balance on all your cards, you should generally make the greatest effort to pay off the card with the highest interest rate. If the balance on the higher rate card is large enough, it may even make sense to use a card with a lower interest rate to make payments on the higher interest card. Once the high-interest card is paid off, you should close the account so that it is removed from your credit record.
5) Pay more than the minimum payment on your account - If you ever want to see a "zero" balance on your statement, you must make more than the minimum payment each month on your credit card bills. They aren't doing you any favors by asking you for less money each month. Instead, it can take years to pay off your balance, even if you never add to your original debt. By increasing your monthly payment even a little, you can eliminate debt more quickly and save yourself a lot of interest.
6) If you have extra money, pay off your card balance - Use any windfall cash to pay off your outstanding balance. Unless you're sure that the after-tax return on your potential investment will be more than the interest rate on your credit card, you'll be further ahead by paying off your credit card debt than by investing the unexpected cash. Stocks may go up or down, but interest payments on credit cards grow and grow.
7) Refuse the offer to skip a month's payment - Credit card companies sometimes offer to let you take a month's vacation from their bill. Often these offers come during the holiday season, as a way to encourage you to spend the "extra" dollars on additional gifts. You're not really getting something for nothing, though. The card company continues to charge interest on your balance, which will not be reduced by your regular monthly payment and may even increase if you use the card during this no-payment month.
8) Keep a credit limit high enough for emergencies but avoid impulse buying - Your credit card would be happily accepted--if your credit limit is high enough to cover the expenses. It is important to keep a credit limit high enough to cover unexpected expenses, but don't be tempted into using this available credit for impulse purchases.
9) Use a travel card only if you can pay the balance in full monthly - If you're going to carry a travel card, you must understand how it works. You might think a travel card is more prestigious than a standard credit card, but travel cards often demand a high annual fee, and payment in full is due at the end of the month. If you pay only a portion of your balance, the travel company may give you a month or two to catch up. But if you still haven't paid in full at the end of this time, they'll cancel your card, and this action will likely appear on your credit report.

Becoming a millionaire by just being an employee (Part 2 of 3)

In any field, there is always a general rule that applies to become successful. There's always a question of how much or how serious you are in achieving it. I know at this point you're thinking that this might be complicated and one that will only cater to somebody who is an expert. No, infact, it's a simple as what you're parents have told you when you first got a hold of your $1 bill--save. That's it!? Save!? Yup, you heard me and it comes with fine ingredients to go with it. Just like leaders need their generals to be successful. First, you have to be employed. Second you'll need the following: patience, discipline, and passion. Now, am I making this very achievable even for an ordinary person? If you think you have all these, then you may proceed with the reading as you are about to start your journey. Again, for those who think you don't have these, forgive me I didn't mean to waste your time. Let's move on and talk about the first thing you need:

Being employed. Naturally, this has to be part of it since our topic covers being a millionaire by being an employee. I will have to reiterate again that you don't have to be a CEO to become one. Your job is vital because this is where the other ingredients will dwell on. This will serve as a stream of money constantly flowing in your hands.

Patience. Yes, it works and it's very helpful. If I tell you that you'll have to alot 20 or 30 years to make it, will you oblige? You see, if you look and live with this one day at a time you won't notice that time has already passed you by, and you'll be surprised that your hair has turned gray. Building something big comes with great patience. Saving money can be boring that's why you have to busy yourself with a lot of things and that excludes shopping. Making yourself busy will move time faster. Hey, time flies when you're having fun as the saying goes. Our second ingredient is:

Discipline. If God had designed us to be like money saving robots I'm sure all of us will end up freakin' millionaires. But sadly we're humans and there are a lot of temptations out there especially where money is to be involved. Food, nice shelter and other luxuries life has to offer are threats that can endanger your savings program. One can never make a 100% savings out of the money that comes in someone's pocket unless you're superhuman. Spending and saving are entirely opposite from each other. It's like hot and cold. Fat and thin. But the good news is, both can work harmoniously in your hands if you have attained discipline in balancing these two. Get a run down of your basic fixed expenses like electricity, food, water and other bills that you have to tend to keep your life moving. Consider yourself first as a basic new generation person because I know you can no longer live like how our primitive forefathers lived back then. It's almost impossible to live without taking a bath, without watching t.v., and literally living without electricity while employed. Once you have identified your expenses, place them in a separate account and the excess in the other one. Your excess should cover your savings, entertainment and other stuff that you know isn't basic. If you find yourself not having any excess money left at all, I would suggest that you make one. How? Go back to your basic expenses and I'm sure you can adjust it even lower. The rule is to leave at least 10% of your money for savings. To make it easier to swallow, consider it as a basic expense--meaning pay yourself first. No matter what, make it as important as buying your food. Years back, I had a friend who would complain that with his mere salary it would be devastating to allot at least 10% of his money for savings and would just be fine to live on the edge as long as they eat 3x a day. Guess what? 3 1/2 years later, he works for the same company with almost the same amount of salary but is now raising two kids and a wife who is expecting to give birth for their third. What's puzzling is that he has managed to squeeze his resources to hold on to life. And what's even more puzzling is that recently, he boasted his new toy- an iPhone. You see, I'm almost definitely sure that there is room for savings. It does not matter whether it's lower than 10%, as long as, you count it as a payment to yourself. Making it higher than 10% will surely make things better and faster. If you are able to do this like you've never missed payment on your other bills, then you are ready to move on to the next level. (to be continued Part 3 of 3)

Becoming a millionaire by just being an employee (Part 1 of 3)

Being employed in a company does not mean your dream of becoming a millionaire someday won't happen even in your wildest dreams. I beg to disagree. This is not like asking for the moon and the stars. If Michael Jackson was able to transform himself from a black man to a white disfigured woman, then you know it's not far fetched. Don't try to be sarcastic by saying "Sure, you may! If you're the CEO" or, perhaps, "Yeah, If you hit the lottery". True, any of these could easily answer your question but don't you think they could also be tough mountains to climb? To be a CEO it would take more than just hardwork to get you there. You'll need imagination, seasoning, timing, skills, wisdom, luck and a lot more. Hitting the lottery, on the other hand, is even more tougher than the topic suggests. I'll give you 200 hundred years more to live and you'll probably still won't hit it. You see, there are no short cuts in the this world, but there is a sure way to do it. Short cut? yes, if you're extremely lucky. I'm not here to discourage you on anything, but these are valid avenues of you becoming a millionaire. You may take this route or that route and it's your choice. What I'll be talking about is the long route. I mean, an ordinary employee becoming a millionaire and nothing else. For people without patience, this is not for you because this will take a lot of time to achieve. Still, getting your first million is way way better than ending your career exactly having the same amount of money you had when you first started earning your first paycheck. (to be continued Part 2 of 3)