Been reading a lot lately about stocks. Then I found this great article at about.com.
7 Rules of Building Wealth
Most parents want to teach their children responsibility - how to become self sufficient and succeed in life (after all, no one plans on raising a dead beat). However, very few actually accomplish this task. Why? Because, as parents, we are limited to the experiences our parents passed on to us; the antiquated notion that “responsibility” is simply getting a job, saving a little money, and maybe purchasing a car or some equally important item. Hopefully these seven rules will open your eyes and help you teach your children to avoid the traps that have stolen financial success from so many people.
Wealth Building Rule 1: Put Off Marriage
Your biggest obstacle to attaining wealth is YOU. Too often, people live their lives in a manner that is not conducive to creating riches and then get frustrated at “the system” when they only really have themselves to blame.
One of the most important financial decisions you will ever make is marriage (more specifically who you marry and when). By putting off the walk down the aisle for a few years, you can save a decade worth of frustration. Your first goal should be to become financially independent, with little or no debt, and have your investments in place. Once you have these three things, your odds of success are drastically improved by beginning your journey on a level playing field (after all, the number-one reason for divorce is financial trouble).
Wealth Building Rule 2: Debt is a Disease
With a few notable exceptions, debt is a form of bondage; a disease that enslaves the borrower. A few years ago, there was a young lady attending college who shot herself because she couldn’t pay back $2,300 in credit card debt. Although an extreme example, it is a testament to the power money has over peoples’ lives. Imagine your life without owing anyone anything; your car, your house, your education, all paid for in full. Like what you see? When you want it badly enough, you will make extinguishing your debt your number one priority.
Wealth Building Rule 3: If You Don’t Like Where your Parents Were at Your Age - Do Things Differently
The old cliché that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results,” holds just as true today as it did when it was originally written. If you don’t like where your parents were at your age, stop what you are doing. During your childhood, they taught you all they knew about money. For many people, these early years established how they feel about their finances today. In order to become financially successful, you must do something different than they did. Otherwise, you will end up exactly as they are.
Wealth Building Rule 4: When you Begin a Job, Look at the Pay of the Highest Employee
Whether you are looking for employment now or are thinking about it sometime in the near future, one of the most important things for you to do is to look at what the top-dog gets at any company for which you are considering working. This will give you an idea of how high you can expect to climb in terms of earnings and promotion. If the CEO is making $30,000 a year, you have no chance to make six figures. Select a job accordingly.
Wealth Building Rule 5: Do Something You Love and Get Paid for It
I remember going into college and being surrounded with people who wanted to be artists, scientists, and businessmen, but instead did what their parents or grandparents told them to do. There is no honor in being a doctor or a lawyer if you wake up every morning and hate your job. Pick a profession you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.
Wealth Building Rule 6: Understand the Money Myth
Money is nothing more than a piece of paper with the image of a long-dead person on it. When you understand that any power it has over you is derived from your relationship with it, you suddenly become free from the constant pressures and stress of thinking about it. Especially at times such as these, if you are putting money away for ten, fifteen, or twenty years down the road, stop checking your portfolio every day! There is nothing you can gain from it except stress.
Wealth Building Rule 7: Your New Commodity is Not Your Labor, It’s Your Ideas
With the advent of the Internet and other technological advances, you are no longer limited to supporting yourself or making a living by your physical labor. The only limit you have on yourself now is your own imagination - your ideas are the most valuable thing you possess. Every man, woman, and child is a salesman for a living; if you don’t own a business or investments, then you sell your manual labor to a company in exchange for a paycheck. Change your product. The gap between the rich and poor does indeed grow larger with each passing year, but not because of inequalities or any other such injustices. Instead, it is because the rich understand money and how to use it. Capital is literally a seed; learn how to plant it to produce the best harvest. When you do this, you will rule your finances, not the other way around.
If I’m going to summarize these 7 rules in simple sentences it would be:
Rule 1: Be financially independent before getting married.
Rule 2: Pay your debt first.
Rule 3: Be better than your parents, build your own legacy.
Rule 4: If you go get a job, compare your salary to the top dog.
Rule 5: Love what you do.
Rule 6: Money is just a piece of paper.
Rule 7: Ideas = Money
