Quick guide to save more money…

Saving money can be an incredible feat for many people. Our lives are full of enticing clothes, cool gadgets and fancy cars. Many will be eager to own them, giving them the gratification and social status. However, when looking at savings or cashflows, you will find many of them are in debt and no savings at all. Many of my friends are like that, they own cars, wear branded luxury clothes, own several designers bags and even multiple colors of similar bags! And they have told me that they have no extra money for their saving accounts. To start saving, you will need to develop habits that will help you reach your financial goals.

Savings are not for people who are poor and had a hard time earning money. Look at the tycoons around the world and you will see many of them are actually super savers. I had two friends who are pretty wealthy, but they had different spending habits. One managed to get a good sum of money and bought himself a $250,000 BMW Z4 Roadster, and I asked him why. “I like sports car and I got it since I can afford it”. Around the same time, the other friend of mine got the same amount of money, but instead of spending it immediately, he invested it in something else. After a few years, he is driving a Lamborghini! “I liked the BMW Z4, but if I can wait for a while and leverage my cash abit, I can actually own Lamborghini in a few years time.” The best thing is he can still easily afford another BMW Z4 if he wanted to!

See the difference? Being wealthy and rich is not about earning big bucks, it is the wisdom of using your money well. Saving money is one of the first few steps to financial wisdom. Here are some ways you can learn from the super savers:

Delayed Gratification.

Super savers do not believe in buying something when they decided to. Things that cost a huge sum of money need careful planning and many will save up so that they can pay upfront and avoid interest charges. Delaying your purchases also give you time to “cool down” and consider whether you really need item or not.

Cut your expenses.

Reduce your expenses equals saving more money. There are many ways to reduce your expenses. So take some time and sit down to review through your monthly expenses. Find things that are you don’t really “need” and stop any expenses on such things. Spend only on essentials and turn your expenses into fruitful investments.

Create budgets.

Super savers are really good at setting up budgets for themselves. Start planning your budget by tracking expenses and incomes in a month and categorize them into logical categories like groceries, entertainment etc. Know how much to assign to and spend within the limits. Excess cash should go to the saving accounts and not to other budgets. Again, budgets have to be in fine details, so that you get the most of out it.

Research your purchases.

Don’t buy on first sight when you have plans to buy something. Always do some research, by going to several shopping malls or online and compare prices. Consider the quality and price that will suit your needs and last you for a long period of time. Such great deals will help you to cut away some cash for savings.

Set financial goals.

 Goal setting is a MUST for any successful individuals. You will not achieve anything if you don’t have specific goals. Super savers sets very detailed goals and work hard to achieve them.Start by eliminating your debts, set firm deadlines and work towards them.

Respect your savings account.

Your saving account is not your cash cow!  Don’t let it be something that you can raid it or empty it for some unnecessary purchase. If you are saving up for a house, you should not be using the funds to buy  a new car! Dedicate your savings to a particular purpose and develop some discipline on how you use the money.

 

Related Resources:

• The Richest Man in Babylon: George S. Clason's Bestselling Guide to Financial Success: Saving Money and Putting it to Work for You
• Awaken the Giant Within : How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!

 

    

Setting up your Millionaire Mindset

Do you ever wonder why some people are just lucky enough, or capable of making a lot of money, while many others struggle their entire lives and get nothing? Well, these millionaires got to have something different! It is the mindset, the way they perceive money and the way they use it. If you want to be one of them, you got to change your mindset, different from the others! You got to think and act like one of them, and I am sure, one day you will be truly a millionaire.

A millionaire mindset is very different from most people. Their mindset drives their energy to develop habits and actions so differently, that many others do not develop. Here are the main 5 characteristics of a millionaire mindset:

 

1. Invest more, spend less. Many people have always think that these people are stingy and selfish, in fact millionaires are very careful in their spending. They know that when money are spent, they will not get them back. But when it comes to investing money, investing in developing skills, through books, courses or workshops, they do not hesitate even a single second! They know that every cent they invest is going to bring them back more money!
2. Gratification. When you receive a pay rise, or a big bonus, do you spend more money ? I bet most of us will say Yes!  Increase in income usually mean increase in spending power. You feel that you have more money now to afford better things to satisfy yourself and make yourself happier, right? Millionaires don’t usually gratify themselves very often, they reuse their extra income to generate more income in the future! They can forget about a getting a sports car and aim to get a supercar in the next 5 years. Many of us cannot resist the temptation on spend all of the extra income to make ourselves happier. So in order to be like them, you got to work hard to kick this habit.
3. Eye for opportunities. Opportunities are almost everywhere, it’s the matter that if you can spot it and leverage on it. Millionaires are good at this, they act quickly when the opportunity comes and try to reap the most out of it. They are always on a constant lookout, wherever they go.
4. Perception of Failure and Risks. Failure to them are simply lesson learnt, they did not fail but they found out they did something wrongly and will try again. In fact millionaires failed more than most people do, because they keep trying and every failure made them stronger and better. Many people are fearful of risks. Its human nature but they think differently, risks to them are probabilities of delayed successes. If the risk is high, the chances of succeeded is delayed and not diminished, and millionaires do assessments and thoughts before taking on such risks. Calculated risks are essential, which will help them to decide if they can afford the wait before getting any return back.
5. Clear vision and goals. Millionaires are people with great plans, they plan ahead and manage well to keep their cashflows going and make good decisions. A clear vision is needed in order to make the right decision. Millionaires diligently do daily financial planning, manage their expenses regularly. They plan their financials well, and keep everything in place, taking control of things. And because they are clear of what they want, they can react to another issues or obstacles that come along, they can work out a better strategy when opportunites or obstacles come.

 

Clearly, the millionaire mindset is truly the fundamentals of being one of them. Some of them learnt from their parents or relatives, other learnt from their personal experiences and some others achieved it through personal development through books and seminars. They put into practice of what they believe and they excel from there. That is why some millionaires are bankrupts who eventually able to turn everything around and becoming more successful. They know that they have the millionaire mindset and with it, can create remarkable results. So if they can do it, you can do it too! We are not bankrupts and we are in far more better positions to succeed, if we adopt the same mindset as them!

 

                                       

There are a lot of great books talking about the millionaire mindsets. They share about the habits, the differences and the principles of millionaires and how to achieve them/ If you want more indepth knowledge of setting a great mindset, I highly recommend this two books,Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth and The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class, which covers the essentials and mindset differences and changes you will need to adopt, to be as successful as them. Don’t wait anymore, the opportunity is here today!

Get out of the rat race! Stop trading time for money

Everyone trades time for money. Every working day you will wake up and go to work for the entire day and earning a sum of money for the hours spent at work. And you do this for the next 30 years of your life! It is an one to one exchange, when you stop giving time, you won’t be getting any money. Everyone has the same number of hours everyday, 24 hours, but why some people can earn more every day? Yes the higher paid workers are doing more value work, but was paid below the value they have contributed to the company.

Most corporate employees are paid fairly low, do a quick calculation: Monthly Salary / (9 working hours * 20 working days).

So if you are earning $2,400 a month, you are paid $13 per hr (~$30,000 annually)

If you earn $4,000 a month, then you are paid $22 per hr (~$50,0000 annually)

If you earn $8,000 a month, you are paid $44 per hr (~$100,000 annually)

Compare if others that have successfully got out of the rat race and not trading time for money. One had created a stream of income by writing a book and earning royalties, annually he is earning $50,000 on the first year, which he had invested 100 days writing it. So that translates easily to $55 per hr. And did you realize he only need to work 100 days rather than the usual 200+ working days? This does not stop here, the following year his book gain popularity and royalties rose to $80,000 and he had not spent anytime on it, the average hourly rate rose to a whopping $144 per hr for that 100 days he spent in the first year! If he keep up the momentum and write more books, the return is exponential!

Can you see the difference now? It is about investing time in the right thing that will bring you exponential return. Passive incomes are incomes that keep coming in without you having to trade with time. So if you are able to create more passive income, you will only need to spend less time for money. And if you reach a stage that money flow in more than what you trade time for money, you don’t have to work anymore! That is financial freedom, the passive incomes you created started to bear fruits that you no longer have to worry about it any more.

Although you might have tried and passive incomes may not come as much yet, say $1000 a month, isn’t that better than trading time for money? You have at least additional income to now, and passive incomes grow on their own, and you can expect more to come gradually. So don’t get discouraged when it doesn’t work to your expectation. Hang on and you will be there soon enough!

 

                

You can gain more tips and guides from many sources about creating passive income. I recommend you to find out more and read a couple of books that will accelerate you to creating your first passive income. Personally I enjoy reading  Secrets To Creating Passive Income and becoming financially free - even in a slow economy, its inspirational as the book guides you through various methodologies and concept of creating passive income and how to stay immune to other factors that might affect you one way or the other. Another very popular book, The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime. sets your mind in the right direction and get out the rat race, through creating passive incomes and spotting opportunities!