Millionaire Acts

Setting Up a “Financial Freedom Fund”

Tyrone — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:29:02 +0000

Few more months to go and this blog will turn 2 years old already. I remember back then, in November 24, 2008, I started this blog and began my journey to financial freedom listing down my goals in life.

Last year, when this blog turned 1 year old, I listed some of the accomplishments that this blog achieved. Aside from my featured articles on Good House Keeping July 2009 and Good House Keeping September 2009 issues, I was also featured in Manila Bulletin’s Blog O-Rama and had a public speaking engagement in Blog World Philippines 2010 and Financial Planning Seminar in our company where I am currently employed.

The achievements did not stop there as this blog also became a major sponsor on the Rich Dad Asia Philippines Event and was one of the contenders in the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2009 and Best Business Blog in the Philippine Blog Awards 2009. It also opened me some opportunities when I received a text message from the CEO of a major insurance firm and made a lot of blogger friends.

This year 2010, I started to venture into other opportunities which led me to set up a financial freedom fund that will serve as my retirement fund. This is the sole reason why I can’t find enough time to update this blog. Nevertheless, I will not be leaving my readers and I will continue writing about business, investments, personal finance, and self-motivation.

You are one of my inspirations my dear readers why this blog exists and rest assured that I will be here to help a lot of you to achieve your dreams and ambitions in life through financial education.

How to Protect Your Bank Checking Accounts

Tyrone — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 06:15:25 +0000

One of the most common deposit accounts offered by banks is a checking account. A checking account is one of the most convenient ways of paying goods and services especially if it involves huge amounts. It enables the account holder to pay without the need to bring cash. Thus, it decreases the incidence of theft.

However, as compared to ordinary bank savings accounts, checking accounts are harder to manage. Without discipline and proper management, it can lead you to serious financial trouble. Maximize the effectiveness of your checking accounts with these helpful tips.

Endorse checks accordingly. An endorsed check is just like cash to its possessor. Write instructions on every check, like “for deposit only” or “pay to the order of”. Indicate also if it’s a cross check which usually requires three days before clearing or a post-dated check.

Report theft immediately. If your checkbook is lost or stolen, alert your bank as soon as you realize it’s gone. You may know it the moment it’s stolen, or it may dawn on you until your monthly statement arrives. But act without delay to minimize losses. It’s the bank job to defend your account against invasion by forgery, but you must let them know so they can take action.

Stop payment on checks you shouldn’t have written. It’s legit when you’ve been hood tricked, fooled, or even if you’ve made a simple error and overpaid on your utility bills. Know your bank’s rules on its stop-check service.

Check and balance. Regularly enter each deposit and withdrawal in your check register, and calculate your current balance. This will help you avoid overdrawing or dropping below your minimum maintaining balance. Compare your check register with the monthly bank statement and figure in interest payments, direct deposits, automatic withdrawals, and other fees.

Flag checks that haven’t cleared the bank. Notify your payees and make sure the checks haven’t been lost.

Guarantee payment with certified or manager’s checks. Sometimes it’s necessary to pay by manager’s check depending on the transaction. Make sure you have enough balance to avoid insufficient funds.

Choose a checking account that suits you. If you know you can maintain a healthy balance in your checking account, make sure your account lets you collect interest on it. If you only keep enough to pay the bills, use an “economy” checking account - no penalties for dropping below the minimum maintaining balance. Talk with your banker about which of their checking accounts best suits you.

Debit with plastic. A debit card is considered as a plastic check, not a credit card. Be sure to tally debit card purchases in your checkbook ledger.

Always keep up with your loan accounts. Avoid unhappy surprises by staying current with each loan account you have with your bank. If you’re late with a payment with a loan, the bank may debit your checking account to satisfy that outstanding obligation. One problem will lead to another.

Reasons Why You Should Pay Your Bills Online

Tyrone — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 09:04:40 +0000

With the rise of internet and e-commerce nowadays, almost everything can be done online. You can trade stocks online, you can shop online, and you can also pay your bills online. It provides convenience and saves you time and money.

If you’re responsible for paying the bills, you probably know what’s involved - paperwork, clutter, and lots of time preparing your checks and falling in line. Wouldn’t it be great if you were never bothered with tedious bill-paying chores again?

Here are five good reasons to pay your bills online:

Convenience: The top most reason is convenience. The average household pays about five bills every month. You write a check and send it to the same company every month. That process takes some of your time each month. What’s more, most bank websites offer the possibility to even download payment records so you can keep track of your expenses.

Control. Ever been charged a late fee? You may know you paid on time but you can’t prove it. Once you’ve dropped that check, you don’t have control over the payment process. Some banks usually allow three days just to clear check payments. With online bills payment, you can schedule your bills payment.

If you want a bill to be paid by the 23rd, schedule it to be paid by the 23rd and it’s guaranteed to get there on time. You can control when money comes out of your account and you have a more detailed history that you can keep by hand.

Flexibility. Some online bills payment services have “e-billing” features which sends reminders to remind you on the cut-offs of your bills. With e-billing, bills are usually sent to your bank’s web site. The e-bill can meet you at the bank’s secure website and you can ask them to send an email to let your know when it arrives.

Even if someone could get to your email, all they can really do is to pay your bill. They can’t take money out of your account.

Security. A lot of people do not have the courage to pay their bills online because they do not trust the service itself. When you bank online, you’re protected by a lot of legislation and regulations. Banks are responsible for protecting you at an even greater level than with the checking.

To further increase the security when paying your bills online, do not tick the “remember password for sites” when using a Firefox browser in surfing the internet. I’ve recently visited a bank’s website using my own laptop and each time I logged in to my account, the username and password has already been remembered. I tried to clear both cookies and cache but it’s still there until I disable the remember password for sites option under security settings.

As for me, all my bills are consolidated and auto debited in one credit card for easy handling and monitoring. Instead of worrying about cut-offs of those individual bills, I just have to worry about the cut-off of my credit card bill to avoid late payment charges. I just need to check each individual statement of account when it arrives to my billing address to check for any disputes.

Debit Cards vs. Credit Cards: Similarities and Differences

Tyrone — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:05:31 +0000

Credit cards are very popular among shopaholics. The convenience of swiping and doing cashless transactions make credit cards the best companion in shopping. However, an alternative to credit cards are debit cards.

So what’s the difference and similarities between a credit card and a debit card? Both cards are used by cardholders to buy good and services without using cash itself. In addition, both cards can be used to make purchases at the point of sale, over the phone, through mail order, and on the internet.

A credit card uses a line of credit granted by a bank or a credit card company which in turn advances the payment to the merchant. In this case, the credit card holder becomes a borrower of the bank. When you exceeded your credit limit, you can no longer use your credit cards for purchases.

On the other hand, a debit card is linked to the card holder’s bank account. Therefore, the funds used in paying goods and services are automatically withdrawn from the user’s bank account. When you already consumed the funds linked to your debit cards, you can no longer use your debit cards.

Another way to put it, when making purchases, credit cards allow you to pay later while debit cards allow you to pay now but in in a cashless, secure, and convenient way, electronically.

Business Tips for Small Business Owners

Tyrone — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 11:55:29 +0000

Every successful entrepreneur starts from small not unless they inherited it from their parents who are tycoons by themselves. Through hard work and discipline, a small business can go into a large enterprise which can generate millions or even billions of profits.

I am sure a lot of us want to start our very own small business. We are tired of having a boss who handles our time. If you are one of those who are contemplating of jumping to become an entrepreneur after being a long time employee, then you might want to read my article about employee to entrepreneur and gauge what are the pros and cons of each.

If you really have the passion for entrepreneurship, then you can leave your company and start your own business. Aside from writing a business plan prior to establishing your small business, here are some tips for wannabe small business owners:

Create a cash flow projection. A good cash flow forecast will enable you to plan and allot your expenses accordingly. It allows you to anticipate possible problems so you can take action to avoid them. Aside from these, you can also know how long will be your return of investment or ROI.

Use Credit and Bank Cash. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, credit cards can be a source of good debts if you know how to discipline yourself in handling them. For small business owners, it is advisable to use business credit cards and charge any business trips, meals, and minor expenses to free up cash and simplify tracking expenses with itemized expenses. Aside from this, you would also get to enjoy the advantages of using credit cards.

Stagger Payments. Don’t always pay in full cash specially if it involves a huge amount in a special project just like a construction. Stagger your payments - the first comes when stage one is completed, the next when the second is finished and it proceeds through various agreed payments. This is not to affect your cash flow for your small business.

Hire the right people. Talent is one of the best assets of a business most especially if you are just starting. Hire the right people. Screen them thoroughly by having a background check. Give incentives and rewards for those performers to boost their morale.

How to Choose Among Mutual Funds

Tyrone — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:44:45 +0000

Mutual funds are definitely becoming more and more popular nowadays since more and more people are looking for ways to grow their money aside from the usual saving and time deposit accounts offered by banks.

Mutual funds open the door to a simple, uncomplicated path to increased wealth. They’re also one of the best ways to diversify your investments and spread your risk. As I mentioned in one of my articles before, mutual funds are companies that gathers a large pool of money and invest it in a broad range of stocks according to specific set of rules. Each investor owns shares according to how much cash they put in. As the portfolio gains or loses value, so does the value of each individual share.

The beauty of mutual funds is that they have enough money to invest in a wide range of stocks, bonds, or whatever else their prospectus allows them to. And instead of owning a few shares of just a few companies, you can have equity in lots of companies.

In choosing which mutual funds you should invest in, here are some of the tips to maximize the earning potential of your money through mutual fund investment.

Choose according to your taste. A lot of mutual funds exists, and each has its own specialty. A fund may concentrate on large-company stocks, government bonds, a business sector like communications or energy, or an investing strategy like growth or value. Within that specialty, it will buy as many different assets as it can.

Mutual funds have fund managers and staffs of analysts who save you the time and effort of studying and tracking individual investments. Choose a fund that fits your particular taste, and you’ll watch your wealth as that entire segment of the economy grows. It’s a slower, but surer, path to making your fortune than betting the farm on individual stocks.

Of course, nothing in the stock market is guaranteed to make money, including mutual funds. But when a fund owns a hundreds of stocks, the failure of one or two of them has little effect. That diversification protects you from losing your money if one or two stocks take a dive.

Consider management style. The biggest difference in funds is whether they are actively or passively managed. An active mutual fund is one where the manager tries to beat the market by picking out the winners. He or she will actively evaluate and trade stocks, generally on a daily basis. These funds will have management fees to pay for the extra effort needed to try and score higher gains.

On the other hand, passive funds such as index funds or exchange traded funds only try to copy a certain index, such as PHISIX for Philippines, or the Standard and Poor (S&P) 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) in the US. it contains just the stocks or bonds in a particular index, so its value follows that index. Because there is little trading, you only pay minimal fees and commissions.

Compare types of funds. Most mutual funds are open-ended funds, which means they have no limit to the number of shares they can issue. At the end of every trading day, the fund determines its net asset value (NAV), which is its total assets minus total liabilities divided by the total number of shares outstanding. This NAV is the price a mutual fund will charge you to buy new shares or pay you if you sell.

Watch out for charges. Loads are sales commissions charged by mutual fund companies and can range from 1 to 2 percent of your investment. If you put, say, P10,000 into a fund with a 5% front-end load, only P9,500 is invested, and P500 goes to the fund. If you redeem or cash in P10,000 from a 5% back-end load, you only get P9,500.

In addition to loads, mutual funds, especially active funds, may charge management, custodial, or maintenance fees. When evaluating a mutual fund, it’s important to subtract the extra fees from the gains it makes when figuring your overall yield. Index funds and exchange traded funds, however, are a good choice because they have ultra-low charges.

If you are interested to invest in mutual funds here in the Philippines, here’s how to invest in mutual funds.

Two Ways to Achieve Financial Freedom

Tyrone — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 09:04:34 +0000

Today, I will tackle about the two ways to achieve financial freedom. Achieving financial freedom is one of the goals that a lot of people want. Who else does not want to enjoy their lives to the fullest without having to worry where to get their day to day meals? Who else does not want to spend their time with their loved ones without the stress that work brings?

In my journey towards financial freedom, I learned two ways on how to achieve it. I am not saying that I already achieved financial freedom but here are the two lessons I learned on how to move out from the rat race to the fast track that Robert Kiyosaki discussed in his famous book Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Generate passive income. Probably the most important but the hardest way to achieve financial freedom is to build assets that will generate passive income. In one of my articles before, I discussed several sources of passive income. It can be from a real estate investment; the royalty fees from a franchise, a music album, and other intellectual properties; stock dividends, interests income from simple investments, etc.

For you to move out from the rat race, you must build assets that will work for you to put money inside your pocket. As Kiyosaki said, assets are anything of value that puts money into our pocket. In contrast, liabilities are anything that drains money from our pocket. Some of us buy liabilities we thought are assets. You must be careful though in determining which are assets and which are liabilities among the things you buy.

However, this is not to say that you should deprive yourself with some of your wants. The very idea of building assets is to generate passive income enough to buy both your wants and needs. As soon as you built enough income generating assets, then you can enjoy the rest of your life with vacations, leisure, and some other forms of luxury and enjoyment. Be careful though not to spend too much to the point of disposing those passive income generating assets to fund your wants. In order to successfully do this, you must learn about financial intelligence.

Earn more and desire less. You may have probably heard this phrase since I already tackled it before. “Earn more and desire less” is the ultimate heart of frugality. In Filipino, “Ubus ubos biyaya, bukas ay nakatunganga.” No matter how much you’re earning, if you’re not spending it wisely to buy assets that will generate passive income, then your expenses are not worthwhile. Unless you’re one of the richest persons on Earth like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, there is a possiblity that your source of income will dry out and you’re not prepared when that happens.

In addition, I’ve learned from personal finance educator Francisco Colayco that your future is the most important expense. Therefore, you must then prepare and save for that particular expense.

Managing Investment Risk: Risk vs. Risky

Tyrone — Wed, 26 May 2010 11:38:33 +0000

I’m sorry for not having enough time to update this blog. I have been very busy in other matters during the past few weeks. Anyway, I would like to tackle in this article another lesson that I’ve learned from the famous Robert Kiyosaki that covers the investment topic of risk vs. risky.

Risk and Risky are two different terms. Except for the fact that one is a noun and the other is an adjective, risk and risky are two different terms when it comes to investing. Risk is primarily the amount of control you have over your investment. This control is only available through proper financial education. Every investment or investment strategy has risk and the more the investor stand to lose, the more risk there is. However, risk is not the same as being risky.

Let us take this example. For instance, when you drive your car, there’s risk. That’s why we have things such as seatbelts and airbags but that does not mean you have to be a risky driver. If you obey the traffic regulations and be nice to other drivers, then definitely you can reduce the risk in driving. But there’s still risk as you cannot completely eliminate it. Likewise, all investments carry risk. But risky investors are so-called “risky” because they lack financial education.

People usually say that investing is risky. Kiyosaki tells that there are three main reasons for this. First, those people have not been trained to be investors. Second, they lack control or are out of control over their investments. Third, they invest from the outside and not from the inside.

Proper financial education manages risk in that it identifies known risks, it determines a strategy for managing risk, and develops a measure for investment rate of return. In summary, the lack of financial education is considered to be RISKY since most mistakes are made by people who don’t know what they are doing.

Lastly, Kiyosaki tells each and every investor to prepare themselves emotionally when it comes to investing. Instead of saying, “that’s too risky”, ask yourself “how can I manage that type of risk?”. Instead of saying “I can’t do that, ask yourself “how could I make that happen?”. Lastly, instead of saying “that’s too scary for someone like me, ask yourself “how can I overcome my fears and make this investment successful?”

Rich Dad Tip:

“If the investor is uneducated, anything he or she invests in will be risky. So it’s not the investment that is risky. It’s the investor.”

Source: Robert Kiyosaki Coaching Lessons

How to Set and Achieve Your Goals

Tyrone — Sat, 01 May 2010 16:53:20 +0000

Goals serve as a source of motivation. Everyone should start with their own individual goals. I started this blog with my own goals and as I have mentioned in one of my previous posts about setting a goal, one should consider having a SMART goal. That is S- Significant, M- Manageable, A- Achievable, R- Realistic, and T- Time Bound.

In order to set your goals in order to achieve them, you must first consider what motivates. From there, pick the ones you think would really give you the most benefit after you have achieved what you set out to do. Remember to write these goals with pen and paper so that you could refer back to them whenever you need to.

As I have mentioned above, make sure that whatever goals you write must be achievable. If your goals are realistic, then you could proceed to determining how long it would take to accomplisg each goal. Besides, putting it in writing is a way of clearly defining to yourself your aims, thereby emphasizing to you more what needs to be accomplished. However, as the need arises, make room for adjustments.

Certain distractions sidetrack us from our goals. One of the biggest distractions that you could encounter is the feeling of being overwhelmed by your own expectations from yourself. If this happens to you, you might have overplanned your goals. Pick up yourself and start all over. Remember to have a manageable goal as I mentioned above.

To help you in achieving the list of your goals, write down the steps you need to take. By simply crossing off step as you complete it, you will be able to see and gauge for yourself your own progress as you go along. The value of this process is that long-term goals could be easily tracked and adjusted whenever something unexpected happens.

Keep in mind that setting up and writing down your goals is a continuing process. You may easily fall into the trap of thinking that this is just a means to an end. If that happens, remind yourself to view your list of goals every once in a while to keep you focused and in line with what you want to achieve. As you do so, remain open to the fact that changes, either planned or unplanned, may occur in the execution of your plans whether you like it or not.

Unleash the Financial Potential Inside You!

Tyrone — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 06:39:07 +0000

One of the lessons I’ve learned in my pursuit of financial freedom is that each and everyone of us has the potential to achieve it. Now, if you don’t believe in this, then definitely you don’t have chances of becoming rich. However, if you beleive in it, then the next step is the question on how to unleash and release this potential in order to achieve your goals.

Here are some of the steps I believe that everyone should do in order to unleash the financial potential inside you:

Know the right people. One of the first initial steps that everyone should do is to know the right people. Knowing the right people and being known by them can open doors for you that can save you years of hard work. You can find business mentors through networking with the right people. The quality and quantity of your contacts and your relationships with them will have more to do with your success than perhaps any other factor.

Unlock your creativity. It takes only one great idea for you to start a fortune. Everyone has the ability to come up with creative ideas and solutions if they look for them. Start by pondering on various possibilities. Look for opportunities and think of ways on how to tap them. Look for problems and create ways on how to solve them. All great fortunes begin with an idea.

Develop discipline and good work habits. Disciplined and hard working people get results. Plan your work and work your plan. Learn to prioritize things. Good work habits will bring you to the attention of important people and certainly will be your passport in building reputation for strong and long-lasting business relationships.

What Does it Take to Become Rich?

Tyrone — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 08:32:31 +0000

A lot of people nowadays days wanted to become rich. You could clearly see by watching TV. There are numerous people joining various TV shows in the hope of winning the cash prize. Alternatively, there are also a lot of people who wants to enter show business. Aside from the fame and glamour it brings, it is one of the easiest way to get rich.

In addition, you could also see the long lines of people buying tickets for Lotto everyday. You would wonder how hopeful a lot of people has become that luck will fall on them and make them instant millionaires.

I already mentioned in one of my previous posts entitled who wants to be a millionaire mentioning additional traits of millionaires describing what does it take to become a millionaire. To supplement those millionaire characteristics, I would like to share with you additional lessons I’ve learned from a British self-made millionaire named Felix Dennis.

He actually gave a list to consider for people wanting to become rich. According to him, if you find yourself unable to accomplish even ONE of these initial demands (even just ONE), forget your quest to richness because it will not prosper:

1. If you are unwilling to fail, sometimes publicly, and even catastrophically, you stand very little chance of ever getting rich.

2. If you care what your neighbors will think, you will never get rich.

3. If you cannot bear the thought of causing worry to your family, spouse or lover while you plough a lonely, dangerous road rather than taking a safe option of a regular job, you will never get rich.

4. If you have artistic inclinations and fear that the search for wealth will coarsen such talents or degrade them, you will never get rich. (Because your fear in this instance, is well justified)

5. If you are not prepared to work longer hours than almost anyone you know, despite the jibes of colleagues and friends, you are unlikely to be rich.

6. If you cannot convince yourself that you are “good enough” to be rich, you will never get rich.

7. If you cannot treat your quest to get rich as a game, you will never be rich.

8. If you cannot face up your fear of failure, you will never be rich.

From the list he gave above, the central idea talks about the fear of failure. Dennis said to “be prepared to remain relatively poor if you will not confront and harness this human emotion.” He shared that in his years of experience in business, he is convinced that fear of failing in the eyes of the world is the single biggest impediment to amassing wealth.

Hundreds of people are now taking part to learn how to become financially free. The question now that I would like to leave to all of you is: Do you want to be employed by them or you want to be like one of them in the future? You decide.

Lead Generation: Marketing Your Products and Services

Tyrone — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 09:08:23 +0000

In business, sales and marketing is definitely the heart and soul in making a profit. If you don’t know how to market your products and services, you cannot have clients or leads.

Marketing is a way of letting potential leads know that your business exists. It’s important to send a clear message to customers: How will your product or service make their lives easier or better, and what sets it apart from the competition? There are many ways to get this message out. As a busy entrepreneur, you should concentrate on just a couple of marketing methods. Here are some of the most widely accepted ways to launch a business and generate leads:

Publicity (getting the media to mention your business in print or on the air). This is a free—or at least inexpensive—way of getting the word out. However, you should have a lot of connections to DJs of radio stations or to performers like actors and actresses.

In addition, if you learn to write positive press releases, it will help attract journalists. Blogs are being featured in TVs nowadays. Remember, however, that you may have no control over what a journalist says about your business. Public appearances and networking with associations and groups that are your intended market are also important ways to bring visibility to your business.

Direct mail (sending an ad package through the post office). I know someone who is doing this for business. He has the mailing lists of various subdivisions. This is called micro marketing and leads are more targeted here since advertisers can directly reach them in their homes. This marketing method can be more effective than telephone advertising because customers can review the information at their own leisure. To maximize the response, you should seek out a mailing list tailored to your business.

The Internet (creating a web page, blogs, using automatic e-mail responses, or joining an Internet mailing list). The Internet is a wonderful way to get your message out to the masses. But remember not to pour too much money into designing a fancy web page until the number of orders you receive via the Internet can pay for the production costs. Blogs and social media like facebook and twitter are cost efficient alternatives to web pages nowdays.

Advertising (paying for space in a magazine or newspaper, or buying airtime on radio or TV). Advertising is expensive. Before you run ads, ask the advertiser what sort of customer response you might expect. Will you get enough bang for your buck? The secret of successful marketing is that it must never stop, and it must adapt to changing circumstances. Marketing is a constant effort, for it is how a business is presented to the intended market.

Marketing is an ongoing part of every successful business. According to Kiyosaki, if you stop marketing, the rule of thumb is that you’ll see the impact six weeks later in a drop in sales. If you need a boost in sales, communicate to your database. Your customer list should be one of your company’s most important assets.

Get Rich Quick Schemes

Tyrone — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:22:33 +0000

We all want to become rich quick instantly. Who else want to work hard to become rich anyway? In one of my previous articles, I wrote about ways on how to get rich fast. However, chances that these might actually happen to you are very slim to none.

Unfortunately, many of us are being made to believe about get rich quick schemes or businesses. These so-called ’scams’ are disguised as opportunities presenting themselves for us to grab quickly before it ‘expires’. Without enough financial literacy education, these preys are bound to be victims of these get rich quick schemes sending their hard earned money to misery.

Most often than not, the targets of these get rick quick schemes are people who are known to have lots of money but without enough knowledge on business and investments. Having said that, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) around the world are number one on the list.

Two of the most used get rich quick schemes are email marketing and network marketing. Let’s tackle them one by one.

Email marketing: In this world of digital age, email is one of the fastest and easiest ways of communication. In my personal experience, I have received a lot of emails from different countries claiming that they have come into a lot of money and need help in investing. Or they can provide opportunities for investment.

If you easily get trapped in this get rich quick scheme, they will start collecting some of your sensitive financial information and when you already detected that it is indeed a scam, then you are left sliced with a big amount of money in your bank account.

Another way used by these scammers are through various fake overseas job opportunities advertisements for those people living in the Third World country like the Philippines. They will get your money in the form of ‘processing fees’.

Network marketing. A lot of network marketing companies I attended promises you to become rich quick. Speakers in the seminars they conduct looked like they earned their huge paychecks without much hard work to entice people to join them. If this is the kind of network marketing you belong to, I think they are one of those get rich quick schemes known as ponzi schemes.

One way not to become a victim of these get rich quick schemes is to stop thinking of getting rich quick! The best way to get rich fast is to get rich slow! You need to think of a long-term period of 20-30-40 years even. That is why the younger you start, the more chances you have to grow your money and become rich.

Just remember, WHEN IT IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT IS PROBABLY NOT TRUE! Increase your financial intelligence, get educated, and learn to scrutinize each opportunity that comes your way.

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Tyrone — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 07:41:40 +0000

“Who wants to be a millionaire?” This is the famous question of the tv show game “Who wants to be a millionaire?” giving chance for contestants wanting to become instant millionaires.

In reality, becoming a millionaire is easily said than done. It is part of a goal, an ambition that needs focus and dedication. Sad to say, not many of us are determined to become a millionaire. A lot of us depend on our luck joining various tv shows and lottery games which can easily give us instant millions if we win.

In one of my previous posts, I already discussed some points on how to become a millionaire in which a lot of readers gave their comments. In this article, I will mention some additional millionaire traits which I’ve read in an article at Investopedia:

1. Independent Thinking. Millionaires think independently. While a lot of people are spending their time and energy on things just to ‘conform’ with the average norm of the society, millionaires spend their own time and energy in creating their own path to riches.

2. Vision. Millionaires think positively amidst adversaries. They are visionaires. They have a certain vision or goal which they believe will come true. Through focus and determination, they can reach their goals.

3. Skills. Millionaires have the necessary skills to excel in their field. They usually build partnerships with other people to supplement their weaker skills. Through these partnerships, they can become more skilled because of what they learn from one another.

4. Passion. Millionaires have passion in their work in such a way that they possess discipline in handling their work. They love and enjoy what they do. Passion is what makes their tiring job less tiring.

5. Risk takers. Millionaires are risk takers. They are willing to take risks for something greater in the future. They possess the attitude of ‘delayed gratification’. However, they are not ordinary risk takers as they take ‘calculated risks’ in every investments they are making.

6. Sales people. Millionaires are good sales people. They can easily persuade other people with their opinions. They are good at presenting their ideas so that these people will buy into them to become their customers and clients. They don’t easily take ‘no’ as an answer. They are good at selling themselves.

So back to the question of the famous tv game show: “Who wants to be a millionaire?” I think everybody wants. However, not everyone has the capability to become one. Becoming a millionaire is not a goal that can be achieved overnight.

Many of the world’s richest people build their wealth over many years by making smart but often bold decisions. If you can learn anything about millionaires, their riches are not necessarily what most sets them apart from the rest of the world - it’s what they did to earn those millions that really stands out.

Buying Repossessed Cars from Banks

Tyrone — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 03:32:54 +0000

In today’s economy, a lot of times, it is practical to buy second hand cars from first hand owners. There are a lot of people involved in the buy and sell business of second hand cars nowadays. You can view some of them in various online and offline advertisements.

Alternatively, one of the best resource of second hand cars are banks. Since applying car loans from banks is quite easy, people who cannot manage their finances properly end up having their cars repossessed by these banks.

I had an experience working in a company that buys repossessed cars from banks before. For those of you who want to buy repossessed cars from banks, here are some of the things that I can advise you to do:

1. Ask for the OR/CR of the car. Make sure to check the OR and CR of the repossessed car you’re interested to buy. OR is the official receipt while CR is the certificate of registration. Check if it really tallies with the repossessed car you’re buying. In addition, you also need to check when was the last time the car was registered to Land Transportation Office (LTO).

2. Repossessed car inspection. This is definitely the most important step. Banks are selling these repossessed cars on an ‘as-is-where-is’ basis. They are most often stored in banks’ warehouses. With poor maintenance, these cars slowly encounter mechanical problems due to rust. You need to thoroughly inspect it if it’s in tip top working condition. Otherwise, if you found any defects on it, you may need to negotiate with the bank to lower their offered price to factor in the expenses you might have for repair.

3. Deed of Absolute Sale. As soon as you decided to buy the repossessed car that you want, definitely you should be signing a deed of absolute sale as a proof of the sale. You need this document in order to transfer both the OR and CR of the car to your name.

If you are interested in buying repossessed cars from banks and wants to know which car models are available for sale, just go to the website of that bank and view the list. If they don’t have a separate page for repossessed cars for sale, they are on the list of chattels for sale so you might want to check that particular portion of their website.

Alternatively, sometimes, the websites of these banks containing the list of repossessed cars for sale are not updated. In that case, you must verify with the bank and ask them for the updated list.

Millionaire Acts

Setting Up a “Financial Freedom Fund”

What To Read Next

How to Protect Your Bank Checking Accounts

What To Read Next

Reasons Why You Should Pay Your Bills Online

What To Read Next

Debit Cards vs. Credit Cards: Similarities and Differences

What To Read Next

Business Tips for Small Business Owners

What To Read Next

How to Choose Among Mutual Funds

What To Read Next

Two Ways to Achieve Financial Freedom

What To Read Next

Managing Investment Risk: Risk vs. Risky

What To Read Next

How to Set and Achieve Your Goals

What To Read Next

Unleash the Financial Potential Inside You!

What To Read Next

What Does it Take to Become Rich?

What To Read Next

Lead Generation: Marketing Your Products and Services

What To Read Next

Get Rich Quick Schemes

What To Read Next

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

What To Read Next

Buying Repossessed Cars from Banks

What To Read Next