What is your "MONEY" story?

Pay Yourself First - Of all the tips in wealth building this is absolutely my favorite.

It is also the most powerful tip when it comes to wealth building. Not only will it empower you, it will also make you wealthy. So not to take anything away from Nike but the truth is you just have to do it!

So what does it mean to pay yourself first? It is taking a specific amount of money on a consistent basis and putting it to work making money for you forever. The initial amount is not as important as the consistency to begin with. I know for myself I had every reason in the book why I had to spend those dollars rather than leave them in a wealth building account. Until one day it became crystal clear to me that without developing this habit I was not going to achieve the financial goals I had set for myself. I have lifestyle goals, contribution goals and legacy goals; all of which require money.

Have you ever heard the question which would you rather have today; a penny doubled every day for 30 days or a million dollars? The answer to this question is actually the penny.

Albert Einstein taught us why when he taught us the power of Compound Interest. Compound Interest is a mathematical concept we learned in grade school. The magnitude of the power of this concept is not something you will realize unless you put it to work in your life. You must experience it!!!

So my question to you is: If you are not doing this, why are you doing what you are doing? When you get up in the morning to do the work you are doing what is your why for doing it? Paying yourself first is a mindset. It is one of the ways the wealthy become wealthier. There is something in the "doing" of this that will affect how you think about and behave with money. It's not a get rich quick scheme. It will make you wealthy. Make it a habit and see what happens.

We would love to hear from you - Are you paying yourself first? How would this look? please share with us in the comments below.

In Abundance,

Sue

Contact Sue

Appointment with Sue 

www.abundanceaccounting.com

Good Debt and Bad Debt - Be in the Driver's Seat!

Many of us do not believe it is possible to be debt free. 

The truth is the truly wealthy don’t have debt. Consumerism and the escalating pricing of the past is a symptom of a much deeper issue in our culture. In the United States the only place you can learn how to handle money is at home or if you strike out on your own in search of knowledge. It is not something taught in grade school at the time it really is best to begin.

When I first started in mortgage and personal lending in the early 80’s (which really wasn’t that long ago :) rates began at 12-14%. This didn’t seem to be as much of a struggle for people as the lending serviceability requirements (the amount of debt payments vs your income). At that time the serviceability limits were: your mortgage could not be more than 32% of your income and your total debt portfolio (car loans, credit cards, etc) could not be more than 36% of your income. By the time the banking industry was crashing the total allowable serviceability was at 60%. It’s no wonder we were in trouble even before the markets crashed.

So if you were not brought up in a home where money was talked about (in a positive way) or entrepreneurship was a way of life then it’s up to you to take the bull by the horns and go in search of knowledge.

I can assure you it is a possibility to be debt free. There is good debt and bad debt - do you know the difference? Debt, like money, is also a tool for creating wealth and there are strategies for when and how to use it well. Be in the driver's seat. When it comes to debt, don't let it control you! The good news is it doesn’t matter where you are starting from you can eliminate debt and take control of your finances.

Contact Sue for more info on good debt and bad debt.

In Abundance,

Sue

Appointment with Sue 

www.abundanceaccounting.com

What is your level of resistance?

When it comes to learning new things we all have a level of resistance that sounds something like this - new things are hard, messy, and possibly irrelevant. Have you ever tried to a new hair style? The hairdresser does this amazing job. You look great walking out of the salon but the next morning after your shower you can’t remember how to make it happen. So what do you do? Well you try and each day it gets easier and better and finally your friends are complimenting you on your great hair style!

Financial literacy is no different. Truth; you never have to know more than basic math – addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Once you begin down the road of learning it. It will build on itself and it won’t be long before the things that initially felt hard and messy are all of a sudden old hat and you are ready to build on them with additional ideas and tools.

Financial literacy is a learned skill. What that means for each of us is that it is possible for us too. It does not matter how old we are, how much money we have in the bank or what our work is, we can learn this.

So why would you want to learn financial literacy? They say money can’t buy you happiness. In my experience money touches every area of our lives. When we are not driving the bus it is driving us, taking up time and energy that we could be using to create the things and experiences in our lives that truly bring us joy.

Two of my favorite authors for financial literacy are Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad and Loral Langemeier, author of The Millionaire Maker.

"Most wealth is inconspicuous. The man down the street driving the nice car and living in the mansion could easily have greater debt and a lower net worth than the stealthy and wealthy plumber who drives a beat-up truck but seems to work only when he doesn't feel like fishing." Loral Langemeier

“We go to school to learn to work hard for money. I write books and create products that teach people how to have money work hard for them.” Robert Kiyosaki

Invest in learning. Learning can come in many forms: reading, webinars, classes, or coaching. For a lot of us, finances can be a scary topic. Fear is nothing more than a lack of knowledge on a topic. With the Internet today the world of knowledge is at our fingertips. Begin to explore.
Contact Sue

In Abundance,

Sue

Appointment with Sue 

www.abundanceaccounting.com