After 12 years of reading about personal finance, it never
ceases to amaze me all the things you can learn. I not only learn about money,
but I also get a history lesson in the process.
Did you know that credit cards have only been in widespread
use since the 1950’s?
Before 1950, credit was rare.
Most places did not offer much in the way of credit. They
wanted cold, hard cash.
Stores may have provided familiar faces and those in the community
with a store credit, but you better believe it was not a $25,000 limit!
I decided to have some fun last summer and see if I could
get approved for $5,000 on some random credit card. Well, guess what? I got
approved for over $20,000 in credit limits!
However, that pales in comparison to some offers that some
people have claimed their pets have received in the mail. You read that right,
pets!
I have read numerous books and articles where people have
received credit card offers for their pets.
Come on, America!
If the pet’s owner cannot afford a $400 emergency, as the
media claims, then how is an unemployed Yorkie going to payback over $50,000.
And yes, that is a limit I read one couple stated their dog received. And that
was only one offer. They also received others with one being $100,000!
However, there are some pets who earn their keep and make millions for their owners.
This post, for now, will focus on how Fido is able to write
checks for his own bone and chew toys that his puppy paws can cash.
Let’s take this a step further shall we and discuss real life ones!
It was recently reported that celebrity designer to the stars Karl Lagerfeld has passed away last month. He leaves behind an estimated $100 million-dollar fortune. The media was speculating that his cat may inherit a chunk of that money. Holy cow! Or should I say, MEOW!!!
In addition, Real Estate heiress Leona Helmsley left her pet dog $12 Million in 2007. The will was contested and the pet received death threats, which caused money to be diverted for security! Unbelievable! Any who, the pet ended up receiving a mere $2 million after the case was settled. That sure buys a heck of a lot of Puppy Chow!
Can you believe that?! A pet that literally has their own
access to a line of credit to pay bills including for their own security guards!
Once credit cards started being more the norm, it exploded!
Once you turn 18, it used to be time to go down to the MVA and sign up to vote. Now, it’s when credit card offers come in the mail.
I remember when I got my very first credit card for $250! I
even had a secure credit card for $500. That’s a far cry from the $20k, I was
approved for last year.
After the 2008-2009 financial crisis, credit dried up faster than nail polish. They were slashing limits faster than prices at Wal-Mart! Then it slowly started creeping back up. As it stands, credit card debt is now higher than it was in 2009! It stands now at over $1 trillion! The current outstanding revolving debt in the U.S. is $1.05 trillion.
The average debt in America has increased 18.5 percent since
2013! In 2015, the average American was in $5,700 dollars of credit card debt.
As of the end of 2017, it is up to $6,354.
The laissez faire capitalism in America allows you to
actually have access to $100,000 of credit while only making less than half of
that.
Debt is crippling. It
can have long lasting consequences if not handled quickly. You have to pay off debt
ASAP.
A guideline I use is anything you have that is under 7%, you do not have to pay off right away if you have other higher interest debt to take care of. However, if that debt is higher than 7%, you need to attack that debt like your financial house is on fire. Your financial destiny is depending on you to get your financial house in order.
Once you have the debt paid off, then you can build your
financial foundation on solid financial footing. All the money going to
creditors will now stay in your bank account and can be invested.
“People say that money is not the key to happiness, but I
always figured if you have enough money, you can have a key made.”― Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers was a comedic force to be reckoned with, but it
didn’t start out that way. She was born in 1933. Her parents were immigrants
and even though her father was a medical doctor, he was more frugal than her
upwardly mobile mother wanted.
Joan’s attitude toward money was shaped early. She saw that
men managed the finances and women were financially dependent on their
husbands. It would be many years later before Joan would learn that is a grave financial
mistake.
On my quest to study the self-made, I decided to look into
the life of Joan Rivers. I was not disappointed. You can also read some of my
other posts on celebrities and money.
Joan wound up in $37 Million dollars of debt at the age of 54. Her grueling and formidable work ethic is the only thing that saved her from poverty. At the time of her passing, at the age of 81, Joan Rivers was estimated to be worth $150 Million.
Here is her story.
EVERYONE LOVES A CLOWN
I succeeded by saying
what everyone else is thinking. –Joan Rivers
Joan was the vice president of her high school drama club. She graduated from Barnard College in 1954 in Literature. She worked numerous jobs to support herself. Joan was a writer, tour guide, and fashion consultant.
Joan was quick-witted, very sharp, and had a penetrating and original intelligence that was like none other. A female comic was a hard living, but that is the life she chose. Her gift of gab became her meal ticket.
Joan Rivers once said that she liked the comedy business and
being a comedienne. This job had nothing to do with race, wealth, privilege,
your background, religion, or gender. Either you have talent or you don’t.
For a decade, Joan couldn’t really catch much of a break. She did learn that comedy was her gift. Even without the support of her parents, she continued her grind and gift of gags. This work ethic finally paid off in 1965. After 3 years and 7 auditions, she booked the Johnny Carson show.
There was no stopping her now.
WORK, WORK, WORK, WORK, WORK
I hate housework! You
make the beds, you do the dishes and six months later you have to start all
over again.
I wish I had a twin,
so I could know what I’d look like without plastic surgery.
Women should look good. Work on yourselves. Education? I spit on education. No man is ever going to put his hand up your dress looking for a library card.
From 1965-1986, all Joan did was WORK! She wrote jokes,
movie and television scripts, made guest appearances on television shows, did
stand-up comedy gigs, and directed film.
If the job came with a paycheck, Joan did it. She was fearless and took on every paying gig that came her way. She even won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in in 1983.
She hit the big time when, in 1986, Fox Television Network
gave her a late night talk show, The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, making
Rivers the first woman to have her own late-night talk show on a major network.
However, unbelievable tragedy struck. She and her husband
were fired from the show and following his death that same year, she learned
she was in debt to the tune of $37 Million!
Broke, alone, and jobless for once in her life, Joan was without words. However, she did what she knows best; she went back to work.
THE FASHIONABLY BROKE POLICE
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is God’s gift, that’s why we call it the present.
I was a financial idiot.
Others may be smarter than you and know how to manage your money better, but you care more.
It was in 1989, The Joan Rivers Show, which ran for five
seasons, put Joan back on the map and in the driver’s seat of her financial
life.
Joan designed a jewelry line, clothing and beauty products and sold them on QVC. She said that she had bills to pay as to the reason to become a celebrity entrepreneur selling products on QVC. By the time of her death, sales of her products exceeded $1 billion!
During this time in the 1990’s, Joan wrote best-selling
books, hosted television shows and won an Emmy!
Joan had charted her own path to success and financial
security.
Don’t follow any
advice, no matter how good, until you feel as deeply in your spirit as you
think in your mind that the counsel is wise.
One of my favorite stand-up comedians is Chris Rock. I once saw an interview where he said Joan was an underrated comic.
On another interview, this is what Chris Rock said:
You think she’s better than Robin Williams?
Yeah, well, put it this way, she could definitely follow
him. That’s it. You as a reporter might go one way or the other. But put a
bunch of comedians in a room and go, “Okay, who’s going to have a good set?”
Who could Joan Rivers NOT follow? You’re not going to come up with anybody’s
name. There’s literally no one in the world Joan Rivers couldn’t follow and
blow off the stage.
It’s problematic to
label her a female comedian?
You know, she did do a lot for women, but she did a lot for
comedy. Please! A lot of my style is Joan Rivers. A lot! But, you know, nobody
would ever say that because we don’t look alike. She’s one of the greatest to
ever live!
What do you mean a
lot of your style is Joan Rivers?
I mean, just watch me on any awards show telling jokes about
celebrities. Who started that shit? Joan Rivers! [Laughs.]
Joan continued her grueling work schedule in the 2000’s.
The comedian hosted E!’s “Live from the Red Carpet” from 1996 to 2004 and later became a co-host on E!’s “Fashion Police,” which premiered in 2002. She did this with her daughter Melissa Rivers.
Joan was hilarious on this show. Remember that one time she tried to give Kelly Osbourne dating advice. You don’t? No problem. I found someone on Twitter who stays well-informed on all things fashion.
Joan insisted she date an older man.
Kelly Osbourne: “I don’t want old balls, Joan.”
Joan: “Old balls roll to Tiffany’s.” 😂
In 2009, she won “The Celebrity Apprentice.” Then starred in “Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?” and constantly toured doing comedy gigs and guest starring on television shows.
THE LAST LAUGH ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK
And JOAN GOT PAID!!!!
Some of Joan’s best jokes were about money. She made a mint
off of telling jokes about wealth. Smart lady!
I don’t exercise. If
God had wanted me to bend over, he would have put diamonds on the floor.
The first time I see a
jogger smiling, I’ll consider it.
Every woman in this room tonight: Think like a second wife. You grab and you take. You grab and you take. And when you die, whatever you got out of him you have buried on you. If the next bitch wants it, make her dig for it. 😂
I’ll write for Hitler
for $500
“Elle says she and
Dakota are ‘normal sisters’ who just go to school and play together…In their
six-hundred-room mansion on the island they own.”
Joan even joked about marriage and divorce. Nothing was off
limits!
“Half of all marriages end in divorce—and then there are the really unhappy ones.”
“I would never get married again. Never, absolutely not – but for 10 carats, maybe.” 😁😂
That reminds me of a hilarious joke I remember from the late Robin Williams.
He said: Divorce is expensive. I used to joke they were going to call it “all the money”, but they changed it to “alimony”. It’s ripping your heart out through your wallet.
She wrote 13 best-selling books. Her work calendar was FULL!
She had gigs lined up for months.
Joan said that for her a calendar full of gigs equals happiness.
I saw in one television documentary about her that she would write all her jokes down and put them in a large file cabinet with toms of tiny draws to house her wit. She said at her age, people forget things, and that includes jokes so she writes them down.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Her biggest money-maker was her QVC royalties. At the time
of her passing, it was reported that she was earning as much as $50 million per
year!
She enjoyed a lavish lifestyle. She has a Penthouse in
Manhattan reportedly worth $35 million, antique furniture, rare books and other
assets of valuable such as diamond jewelry and artwork.
When asked why she works so much as she can retire rich, she
replied that she wanted to live lavish and opulently. She did not want to cut
back. She wanted to enjoy creature comforts, spend her wealth, and help and
support others with it. Working allowed her to do that.
Not bad for a woman who nobody though would make it. Underestimated,
underrated, undervalued, and unappreciated in every way. But in the end, the
duckling turned into a beautiful swan.
A very rich one.
So, cheers to you Ms. Joan Rivers. Joan may be gone but she’s
still getting applause.
And when it comes to finances, from me she is getting a standing ovation.
“Walk amongst the natives by day, but in your heart be Superman.” ― Gene Simmons
In 2017, Gene Simmons wrote a book called, On Power: My Journey Through the Corridors of Power and How You Can Get More Power.
This book was nothing like I expected.
It was MORE.
Like the title says, it’s about getting more power. Become more powerful than you ever thought you could be. It all starts with your actions.
Let’s get right into it.
WHO IS GENE SIMMONS?
Image: Forbes.com
The short version is that he is a co-founder and front-man of the band KISS, that he helped start in the 1970’s. They are America’s #1 gold record-award-winning group of all time.
Image: New York Post
Gene grew up dirt poor. He practiced guitar for hours after watching The Beatles on an appearance of the Ed Sullivan show, he knew then that he wanted to be a rock star.
According to Harper Collins, the book was inspired by Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, Simmons offers his unique take on the dynamics of power in every realm of life, from the bedroom to the boardroom, to the world of rock, celebrity, and social media, to politics. With one-of-a-kind anecdotes from his life and career, as well as stories from historical and contemporary masters of power, including Winston Churchill, Napoleon Bonaparte, Warren Buffett, Michael Jordan, Oprah, and Elon Musk, Simmons crafts a persuasive and provocative theory on how the pursuit of power drives civilization and defines our lives.
Gene Simmons has an estimated net worth of over $50 million dollars. So, I decided to give the book a quick read. Glad I did.
POWER IS WHAT EVERYONE WANTS
People want power.
Power over their lives
Power over their time
Power over their professional lives and career
Power over their money
So, how do you get this so-called power.
It’s a power grab for sure.
Gene takes a no-holds-barred approach to his life and on power. It’s dog eat dog out there. You have to be one of the big dogs.
Gene believed that everyone deserves power and that it is yours for the taking.
In his book, he gives you the key to unlock the doors to the temple of power.
GENE ON EDUCATION
“It’s up to you to educate yourself.”
“It’s up to you to learn speaking skills and people skills.”
“It’s up to you to try (and usually fail, but to try again) all sorts of ventures.”
“Believe me, the library is the temple of God. Education is the most sacred religion of all.”
He graduated from Richmond College in New York City getting a bachelor’s degree in education. At one point, he was a school teacher in the Upper West Side.
Gene also speaks multiple languages such as German and Hebrew.
I noticed this was also a theme of Scrooge McDuck. Get a good education, become a linguist, and get to work.
I read everything I can get my little hands on. I go to the library every month. I regularly check out 4-5 books at a time. Sometimes more. I do believe in being well-read.
GENE ON SUCCESS
The rest is a combination of hard work, being at the right place …at the right time…with the right thing…oh yes…and more (never ending) hard work.”
You want success? Well, you have to work for it.
Gene puts his money where his mouth is.
He worked for a butcher hauling up huge slabs of meat and cleaning the blood off the butcher block. Gene has worked as a typist and sold fruit on the side of the road when he was 8 years old.
Make no mistake. Gene is a hard worker and a hustler. He was working multiple jobs to get ahead. Similar to Jay Leno.
As for myself, at one point, I was working as a waitress, cashier, or in sales. In addition, to going to college and studying at times up to 5-7 hours a day! Going to bed at 1 am and getting up at 6 am. Rinse and repeat! I did that for years.
GENE ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND CAPITALISM
“Before I ever knew what the word Entrepreneur was, I realized in America and in the Western part of the world in general, you are given the opportunity to be whatever you want to be. And that is all anyone should ever expect from the Capitalist system. The rest is up to you.”
Yep. America is the land of YOYO (You’re on your own).
You learn real quick that no one is coming to save you. You have to create your own safety net. You can’t depend on the government. The only person to depend and rely on is self. Get it? Got it? Good.
GENE ON MONEY
“So much of our popular mythology focuses on the negative aspects of power that we forget that gaining power is, perhaps, the only way to enable ourselves to make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.”
Gene says you must first get your financial house in order before you can espouse love.
This is similar to what I once heard Tyra Banks mother say, “you have to get yourself together first, before you can help anybody else.”
You should always be looking for ways to earn and expand those earnings. KISS started out with nothing. They slowly built a following. IT. TOOK. YEARS. They were riding around in an old van going from gig to gig and living off hot dogs.
But KISS got smart. They started licensing their name. Everything from lunchboxes to t-shirts. Their moniker is big. Multi-million dollar deals got them to the top of the heap. Monetize everything is Gene’s motto. And he has. And it’s been lucrative to say the least.
So, there you have it. Gene Simmons on power. If you want it bad enough, you just have to work and rock-n-roll all night, like KISS, to get it.
The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want. – Ben Stein
Ben Stein is an economist and actor, who wrote a book in 2017, called The Capitalist Code: It Can Save Your Life and Make You Very Rich. He has an estimated net worth of over $5 million. So, I thought I would check his book out.
On my quest to follow the money, I have discovered lots of books, blogs, and information about money.
I have been told I am seriously into all things money. Friends sometimes call me “the money lady.” That’s fine with me. I take that as a compliment. There are much worse things to be called than that.
But, I get it. I do have a laser-like focus when it comes to getting things done. I can be a task-master. It comes naturally to me. I just can’t help it because I believe in finishing what I start.
I learned that lesson from one of my favorite childhood books Where the Red Fern Grows.
You could say I’m a bit obsessed with learning about money. However, it has served me well to know about personal finance. I have a six-figure retirement and save over 40 percent of my income. All that came from reading finance books!
That is how I came to find this book. It is a quick read as the book is on the small side at 146 pages in length. I knew the name Ben Stein, but I wanted to find out What is The Capitalist Code?
But first…
WHO IS BEN STEIN?
“I’m an economist by training. I don’t really work as an economist. I only worked briefly as an economist.”
Jewish-American economic and political commentator, writer, actor and attorney. He gained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Later he entered the entertainment field and became an Emmy Award-winning actor, comedian, and game show host. He is famous for his monotonous yet humorous voice in acting.
For those who may not be that familiar with the name you may remember him from his self-titled television show, “Win Ben Stein’s Money” or from the film, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
“As to a media personality, well that just happened in large measure because people found me amusing, and I did lots and lots of T.V. news interview shows.”
“It’s a great stretch for me to do my game show. It’s very hard. It’s not me at all. The only part that’s me is sort of when I’m sitting in the booth looking tormented. That’s the only part that’s the real me.”
In Ferris Bueller, he is actually discussing a real topic of the era. During the 1980’s, Reaganomics was also referred to as voodoo economics or trickle-down economics. I’ll give you more on this topic later, in a future post. 😉
Ben has written for publication’s such as Barron’s, The New York Times, Fortune, and the Wall Street Journal. And numerous financial books including this one.
WHAT IS CAPITALISM?
By definition, an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. You will often hear it referred to as a free market or free enterprise.
Simply put, capitalism is a system of investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained by individuals and corporations instead of by state-owned means. Participants privately own capital.
Ben says, “Free market capitalism is a fantastic wealth-producing system and allows individuals to amass wealth.”
In addition, “There is no freer, more diverse, and more equal opportunity employer than capitalism. . . If you can produce a large amount of excess over your costs, you get well paid. And if you produce very much more than you cost, you get rich.”
A free market of competition, not a central government or regulating body, dictates production levels and prices. True capitalism needs a competitive market because without competition, monopolies exist.
“Trying to pick individual stocks is a trap. I can’t do it. Warren Buffett can, but hardly anyone else can beat the indexes over a long period of time.”
It’s easy to think of big business as morally bankrupt, but it isn’t, really. Business leadership can make poor/unethical decisions, but being big doesn’t make them inherently wicked, and being a small business doesn’t make it inherently virtuous.
“I agree that there are some bad apples on Wall Street. I spent about ten years exposing corporate and financial fraud for ‘Barron’s’ magazine and I found a lot to write about.”
If you want to know more about stocks, you can read numerous books and magazines on the topic such as Value Line, The Intelligent Investor, and anything by Jack Bogle.
The key point is this: Free market capitalism is an incredible machine for making wealth. Corporations “rain money” year after year. If you don’t participate, you are making a huge blunder. It doesn’t take a genius, but it does take a plan—a “little bit of knowledge and an even smaller amount of action.”
SCARY STATISTICS
“The education system should teach us about money; it’s an incredibly big subject. I run into people all the time that don’t have the first clue of what they should do about money.”
Ben states the following about personal finance in America:
Most Americans have not inherited wealth or a successful business that could set them up for life
80% of millennial’s have no plan whatsoever for retirement savings
Many Americans are saving NOTHING
The average person says they need about $50,000 per year for retirement; but only has savings to achieve 20% of that number
We live in a country where more than half the people couldn’t come up with $500 in cash today if they had a family emergency
Source: GoBanking
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
According to Ben, you need to save first, and then spend— automatically.
That’s similar advice that Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary says: “Don’t spend too much. Mostly save. Always invest.”
Barnes and Noble provides this overview of the book: harness the incredible power of the U.S. economy for enjoyment and security by being owners of profitable businesses-by consistent, conservative investment starting as young as possible in a diversified port- folio of stocks. Anyone can be a capitalist—and should be. All it takes is a little bit of knowledge and an even smaller amount of action. All it takes is The Capitalist Code.
BEN ON EDUCATION
“There is a clear, unequivocal, if generalized, connection between the amount of education that a man or woman achieves and the amount he or she earns.”
In the book, he shows what women can earn with a degree…
And men.
Agreed. I notice that the more education you have, the more informed decisions people tend to make.
Although, in my opinion, education is not an equalizer it does; however, provide you with increased opportunity, knowledge and exposure to scholarly information.
For most folks, a bachelor’s degree is enough. Particularly, from a reputable in-state public or private accredited institution.
I will never forget when I was reading Arnold Schwarzenegger’s biography when he saw a PhD professor driving up in an old, beat up car and he said to himself that if that is what an advanced degree gets you, then that guy was in the wrong career.
BEN ON SPENDING
“You must arrange your life from the very get-go so that you are spending less than you earn.”
Yep. I have learned it is not what you make, but what you spend.
You can totally blow through $200,000 USD a year after taxes! Just keep buying big homes and expensive cars.
BEN ON PICKING STOCKS
How should you invest?
“You don’t need to “play the market” and try to pick stocks. Just buying and holding index funds is a simple, effective method that beats money managers most of the time.”
How long should I hold onto stocks?
“Hold onto these funds as long as possible.”
Should I sell as soon as I get a sizable gain?
“Take advantage of huge tax subsidies for deferring investment gains.”
BEN ON WEALTH
“A highly disproportionate amount of the good things in life accrue to those who have financial capital. The easiest way is to own index funds.”
He states you must acquire wealth.
I too have read you must pursue wealth. You may not want to chase money, but sitting on your laurels won’t attract money and abundance to you. Wealth is something that is attracted to those that have beat inertia and exhibit exertion.
Well, there you have it.
Straight from the guy who is pretty focused on one-task himself as he continued to utter that famous line, Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
Just like someone had pity on him and answered him in the movie, Mr. Stein has answered a lot of your money answers in his book. The code is capitalist. He has given you the key to unlock the secrets on how to build wealth. So, use his key. Because guess what? The secret is out!
Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you. – Oprah Winfrey
I fully agree with that statement. I learned from Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin, to do what excites me. So, every post I write is a topic that I am excited about.
I write what’s brewing around in my head, what is burning in my soul, and straight from my heart.
Sometimes, I think of that scene in Spider-man Homecoming when Tony Stark (Iron Man played by Robert Downey Jr. aka RDJ) meets Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland).
You can check out that scene here.
He says this to him:
Tony Stark: Why are you doing this, huh? What’s your MO? I’ve got to know, what gets you out of that twin bed every morning?
I ask myself that question. What gets me out of bed every morning and gets me going? If it doesn’t excite me, then I’m not going to do it. And that is exactly how I feel about writing for this blog.
This blog will be very lively and spirited. That’s me. Full of energy.
GET EXCITED
I don’t plan to bore you. I want to be the place you go to wake up to. Like a radio station. I want people to come here to learn new things, get inspired, and when they leave to feel good.
I also try to only do what excites me in my personal life as well. There’s no fear of missing out for me. If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen. If not, move one. There’s always another rainbow, opportunity, or chance for adventure somewhere. I say, onward and upwards.
Obviously, Oprah needs no introduction. You know the face and you know the name.
She has won multiple Daytime Emmy’s, been nominated for an Oscar, and is regularly asked to attend and speak at major events all over the world.
Well, Oprah once did the commencement address at Wellesley in 1997. In her address, she discusses 5 important lessons she has learned for a better life.
Here are the 5 quotes from Ms. Oprah Winfrey that have inspired me and I hope they do the same for you.
OPRAH ON LIFE
My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. – Maya Angelou
Life is a journey. Every day experiences will teach you who you really are.
I remember reading a book and a man commented that he witnessed someone being mistreated. When he asked the man why he didn’t say mean things back to those who were saying awful things to him, he responded, “You cannot fight hate with anger. You can only show peoplewho you are by how you live your life.”
Indeed.
See my post on how to thrive by working harder than others that I learned from Jay Leno
When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. – Maya Angelou
2. When people show you who they are, believe them the first time. This is especially helpful with men. Don’t force them to beat you over the head with the message.
I have definitely learned this lesson.
In this life, if you want to not only survive and thrive, then you must learn to weed out the good from the bad apples quick!
Check out my post on what can happen to people that learn to value things more than people.
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. – Marcel Proust
4. Be grateful. Keep a daily journal of the things you are grateful for. It will keep you focused on the abundance in your life.
It most certainly helps to think about all you do have, instead of what you don’t.
OPRAH ON HAVING VISION
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. – Melody Beattie
5. Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life because you become what you believe.
We have to teach our girls that they can reach as high as humanly possible. – Beyonce
I remember reading that Bella Thorne creates a vision board for herself every year. Say what you want about her, but she is a hard working woman. You know why? It’s because she has a vision.
Arnold Schwarzenegger does something similar. Read all about it below. Very motivational.
If you want something in this life, you better be prepared to work for it. Nothing is free. Rarely is anyone ever handed anything in life. And even if you are, do you know what to do with it? Or how to manage it? It’s a lot harder to stay on top, when you haven’t done any of the work it takes to get there in the first place.
It wasn’t until I decided that I would be rich, that I started earning and attracting more money.
I learned that it all starts with the mind. Change your thoughts, change your life.
You’ve got to work to succeed. – Owner of a Lonely Heart Song and Lyrics by Yes
If you crisscross the country, you will see home prices are highly inflated. Homes values have gone up, but so too have prices.
I look to my left and to my right, but I don’t really see any new starter homes being built.
How is a family just starting out supposed to find affordable housing without any affordable homes?
You need to keep your fixed expenses low, so that you can keep more of your money in your pocket.
Remember the future is more expensive. Things do not go down in price. Prices go up.
I urge you to reconsider purchasing anything that will mean paying a high fixed amount over a long period of time such as a mortgage.
High fixed expenses can cause folks to go bankrupt.
If you do an online search, you can lookup bankrupt celebrities and see my point.
When going through their financial records and bank statements you see the glaring red flags right off the bat.
Here is a typical list of items I see when high profile people file for bankruptcy:
The newest or latest Range Rover
Large wardrobes and expensive designer suits or furniture
Huge credit card bills
Expensive foreign car leases
Tax liens
Medical debt
Back mortgage payments
Multiple child support or alimony payments
Back taxes owed to Uncle Sam
There is one-line item I would like to pull out in particular and that is the mortgage payment.
Let’s say hypothetically speaking, one was to bring in $70,000 a year, but was once pulling in $520,000. That’s a pretty huge drop in income right there. Would signify some belt tightening needs to be done right?
Nope.
Instead folks were continuing to live in the same neighborhood and even in the same house. In addition, driving fancy cars, and pretty much were living as if there had been no drop in income.
That is no way to do your finances.
You have to respect money. You cannot spend before you earn. As the song goes in the lyrics stated above, you’ve got to work to succeed.
You can’t continue to have the trappings of success, if you truly can’t afford them.
So, let’s discuss buying less home in order to be wealthier.
HOME PRICES ARE THROUGH THE ROOF
According to Zillow.com, the median home price in Washington DC is $575, 800.
If you have a 5% interest rate and a 30-year mortgage, that means you will owe $3,091 a month. And that’s just for the bricks! You have not paid property taxes, closing costs, home warranty, or utilities.
Adding in homeowner’s insurance and property tax, you are looking at $3,419 a month.
The Mortgage affordability rule states you should spend no more than 36 percent of your gross income on all your total debt, and this includes mortgages.
Based on the numbers, to purchase a home at this price point, you would need to bring in over $12k a month. That’s $150k a year. And this amount includes no down payment no debt except a mortgage.
Who doesn’t have a car payment these days? However, make anything less than that and its sorry game over.
Let’s not forget that this is for a property in Washington DC. There are tons of other metropolitan areas where to pay to play is even more egregious.
What a home in swanky parts of New York, California, Connecticut, Florida, Colorado, or Texas? Well, it’ll cost you.
Homes in gated communities can be well into the seven figure range.
If we take three times $575,800, that gives us $1,727,400. A $1.7M home will cost you approximately $10k per month, which is $120k a year and $10k of that goes just to property taxes.
In a decade you would have paid $120k for property taxes, just for you to sit on your couch in your living room .
That means a $3.5M home would cost the homeowner $250k over 10 years.
That’s right. A quarter of a mil. Just because the house is standing.
PROPERTY TAXES ARE FOREVER
Oh and by the way, did I mention that property taxes are forever?
You don’t ever stop paying it.
That means you will always have some cost associated with owning a home, even if everything inside of it and the dwelling itself is paid for.
Wishing you could buy a manse like Hova and Beyoncé. Well, be prepared to shell out big bucks cause the property bill alone is massive.
It was reported they bought an $88M mansion in California. A pricey piece of property indeed. A ritzy neighborhood for sure and a jaw-dropping beauty of a home.
In sunny California, the property tax rate is composed of three types of levies: general tax levy, voter approved bond indebtedness repayment, and special district assessments. The general tax levy was frozen by Proposition 13 at 1 percent of assessed property value.
So, let’s get down to the bottom-line. Property taxes on an $88 million-dollar home at 1% is $880,000 dollars! That is for one year. I shudder to think about the cost of upkeep.
Although, this is obviously not what the average American homeowner is paying in property taxes, it does illustrate that paying these taxes can be mighty expensive. Especially, if you are living on a fixed income, which many Americans one day likely will be.
HOW MUCH CAN YOU SAVE
What can you do instead of buying a huge property?
Glad you asked.
You can buy less home and save money.
This will effectively allow you to increase the amount of money you save.
For example, just buying a property that is $100,000 cheaper could allow you to save $584 a month in mortgage payments and property taxes.
Investing that $584 over 30 years at an 8% rate of return could net you $877,423.
You would be giving up close to $900k in wealth to live in a neighborhood that ends in the name of Hills instead of Heights.
Basically, you could save a small fortune.
HOW MUCH GREENBACKS MAGNET SAVES
I decided to buy a smaller home than most friends and family members I know.
In one case, I paid $500k less than my peers or their families. In another, I paid less than $700k!
Just figured less home would mean less to do for maintenance, lower utilities, and more freedom because less time is needed to manage my household.
I was right.
It is way less stress to care for a smaller versus a larger home.
You have less stuff because you have less space.
Either you throw out and donate crap or get creative in storing it. I prefer to come up with less storage solutions and just stop buying stuff.
You’ve got to work to succeed. – Owner of a Lonely Heart Song and Lyrics by Yes
