From my observations many people believe that the way to become rich is by increasing their income. So they work harder and longer and manage to survive on a basic wage and everytime they get a raise they use the extra money to buy “stuff” – a bigger car, a new TV or a bigger house. It is called a consumer society. Buy more stuff.
And on it goes – the more they earn the more they spend and now even their substantial salary wouldn’t cover their increasingly expensive lifestyle.
You see…when you focus on income you fall into the trap of spending all you earn.
More income, without the right financial understanding, habits and skills, is as dangerous to your financial success as too little income.
The solution is to earn passive income; money you make when you don’t work. Robert Kiyosaki in his books mentions the Cashflow Quadrant; with the ultimate goal; where the money makes the money and you are not exchanging hours for dollars, but where your dollars are making the dollars. The dollars work for you and you are not working for the dollars.
The question is; have you thought about this? If so, what are you doing about it? Putting your money into a savings account or Superannuation will not do it for you.
So I hope that this might spur you onto making some changes to your life; for the better.
Nothing changes till you change.
Till next time.
Cheers, Bertram

It would seem like a couple of weeks, but it has been much longer than that since I last wrote to you and it has been a hectic time with some surprises and I will share some very important and interesting news with you about all this shortly.

In the meantime I have been pondering why so many people do not make adequate plans for retirement. I wrote about this sometime ago and it still bothers me, because as I move around this country I am confronted by ‘apathy.’ Yes! Apathy; regarding wealth creation.

I have come to the conclusion that it is ‘FEAR’ that stops people from making a move. Not just in wealth creation, but in trying something new or going beyond their comfort zone. As someone said “Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.” How true is that?

Just think about riding a bike for the first time or driving a car for the first time. You were probably frightened and yet encouraged because your Mum and Dad and or friends were around you when you took off for the first time. So why don’t people venture into wealth creation?

My guess is that they do not have people around them encouraging them and in fact it would be just the opposite; because their friend would be in fear as well. How many times has someone said to me that their family or friends discouraged them from taking a step into investing and I have asked how successful and wealthy those people were? Only to be told that they were not.

Why do people take advice from people who know very little about investing in property? Why is it that Financial Advisors don’t advise on property?

Property has been the single biggest wealth creator in this country. Just take a look at the BRW Top 100 and see what I mean.

But I caution you about property spruikers, as well.

Many people give little thought to exactly how much money they will need in reserve come retirement time. For example, if you would like to have a yearly income of $60,000, and assuming you hope to live at least 20 years past retirement, you will require $1.5M. This of course does not include your home (which hopefully is paid off by retirement time). This is available funds that are TAX FREE. That means net value – after you’ve cashed in your Super, sold off investment properties (and paid your capital gains tax), flipped your shares, etc.

If you want to speak with someone who has been and done it and who is passionate about property and loves to share his knowledge; drop me a line or give me a call.

Warm regards

Bertram

This is a reprint of a page from a book by Alan Cohen that has a page for everyday of the year. I felt that I wanted to share this one. Hope that you enjoy it.

A radio commentator noted that the news we generally received through the media is “a proctological view of life.”  What is presented, as the news is a carefully distilled entree of mayhem, culled for commercial saleability, playing on base fears and sensationalism. Much of the news we receive is not honest, for it is not an accurate reflection of the truth. While the media lets us know that a rape occurs every five minutes, it does not tell us how many acts of kindness occurred in that time. We rarely receive statistics on how many children were brought into the world with delight and appreciation; how many teachers told the students, “You are destined for greatness”; how many athletes dug into themselves for the stamina to complete their jogging; how many creditors extended extra grace to their overdue accounts; how many drivers slowed down to allow cars from a sidestreet into the lineup of a main thoroughfare; or how many times anyone said, “I love you.”  When the news reflects the whole of life, not just its sordid aspects it will be honest, serviceful and worthy of our attention.

If we wish to get more accurate news, we must withdraw our fascination from evil and reinvest it in peace. A San Francisco newspaper published two different versions of the day’s news, one with the sensational headline about a murder, and the other with a more modest banner about progress in peace talks. The sensational headline outsold the more mellow edition by four to one.

Invest n a better world by placing your attention on what works, rather than what doesn’t. Do not start or end your day by listening to newscasts. Celebrate all the good you hear about and pray that we may learn from our pain and suffering, rather than dwell on it. Make the news of the day better by shining the light of your consciousness on the good, the beautiful, and the true. – Alan Cohen

I’m sure you have heard the saying “health is wealth” and by that definition it is clear that wealth is not money. So what is wealth?

Some would say wealth is having enough to live how you want, where you want, with whom you want and more.

Others would see wealth as being rich, being a millionaire and able to build or buy the house of their dreams or drive the car of their dreams and live in the suburb of their dreams in the country of their choice.

Many people would associate wealth with rich people, actors, and pop stars that live in mansions in exotic locations.

Wealth is described as the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions and yet economists describe wealth as ‘anything of value,’ which means that it is different for each and everyone of us. Values are unique to every individual.

If I come from the point of view that wealth is having things of value it is fair to say that many people value having a comfortable lifestyle and doing what they really enjoyed doing.

Taking this a step further to have a comfortable lifestyle you need to have a comfortable home and enough money to live comfortably.

That being the case it may surprise you to learn that the majority of people live on a pension. So you might have a comfortable home and live on a pension but would that afford you a comfortable lifestyle to do what you really enjoyed doing?

Would it surprise you if I told you that one percent of the population owned fifty percent of the assets in the US and I would suggest that it is not that different here in Oz.

What I have learned through my work of assisting people to create wealth is that most people do not think about it till it is too late to do anything about it. Sad but true!

Most people seem to think that their superannuation will give them a comfortable lifestyle, but generally this is not the case. The returns on Super are disappointing to say the least and if you wanted an income of $60,000 per annum in your retirement you would need over $1.5M in the bank.

There are many factors that create this situation but from my experience four things stand out that can address this situation.

1. The right Mindset
2. The right Information
3. The right Strategy
4. The right Actions

I will address these topics in future posts, but if you have any questions feel free to call me on 0418 31 32 99.

Till next time

Namaste

Bertram