Personal Finance

Let’s play a game. What first comes to mind Okay? Good. When I say finance you say (first thing that comes to mind),

FINANCE!! FINANCE!! FINANCE!!

Alright! Not such a joyful crowd I have here. Why is that? I’m guessing what came to mind was taxes? Debt? Frugality? Guilt? Boring? Let’s make FUN = the F in Finance okay? Time to spice is up! When I say money you say (first thing that comes to mind), MONEY!! MONEY!! MONEY!! There we go! There’s the energy!

Ok here’s what I heard,

• Shopping
• Vacations
• Luxuries
• Women
• Personal Chef
• Sports Cars
• Freedom
• More shopping

And I think I heard someone say evil. BOOO. Money isn’t evil, poverty is. You don’t want that, no one does.
Quiz Time! (Yes I’m pushy, deal with it)

1. How often do you think about money? How do you feel when you do?
2. How often did/do your parents speak to you about money?
3. What did/do your parents say when they mention money? I can’t afford it? Do you think money grows on trees? Do we look like the IMF?
4. Do you want to keep more money?

If your answer to question 4 was yes, you pass! And to celebrate your pass, like our Facebook page. If you failed, subscribe to our newsletter (did I mention I’m an a hole? No? Okay) 
Growing up, my parents never spoke to me about money. Whenever they did, there was a problem and I couldn’t have what I wanted. I used to think money was only for “the lucky ones”.  I set a lifelong goal to be “lucky”.  Fast forward, I spend guilt-free, I can whatever I want, whenever I want without worrying about money. (Throughout my life, I only had an allowance once)

How did I get here? 

The most important part of the journey has been my mental battles. Mental battles? What is this guy crazy? No. I had to fight my concept of money. I had to have a “rich” mindset. Today, I know more degrees & schooling does not equal more money. If it did, why aren’t all teachers millionaires? I know working more hours as an employee doesn’t equal more money. You probably know that too. I know creativity and the application of it makes more money. I know imagination, risks and consistent tries make pay big time.  This brings me to the million dollar question. 
So really how did I get here?  It wasn’t just one straight road. Heck, it wasn’t even a single road. There were dozens. I agree with the saying, “there is no one way to make money.”  This saying has my heart (sorry ladies) “happiness is a choice, wealth is a decision”. 
So what is the biggest barrier?
A few months ago, A friend wanted to get in shape. She wanted to sign up for the gym. She vowed to workout three days a week. She never did. When I asked why, she said, “I don’t have enough time”. ” If you don’t enough time, why don’t you work out once a week?”. “What’s the use? I won’t get in shape as fast as I would with three days.” She would rather cling to a dream of working out three times a week than actually working out once a week. She keeps the hope so she doesn’t feel guilty. She will never workout. If only she were brutally honest with herself, she would be in shape right now. She said “I don’t have enough time” instead of “I’m just lazy, I’m afraid I would look stupid.” Fear got the best of her, and she had built enough physical barriers to justify her actions. The phrases, ” I don’t have time”, “I’m too old, it’s too late Friday me” Are the laziest excuses ever invented. If they had a child, I bet they would find the time to take care of them. And about being too old, Colonel Sanders would beg to differ. He didn’t think of himself as being “too old”. This is the same with money. Excuses like; I just can’t start a business, I just can’t follow the steps to being free financially, I don’t have enough time, it’s too late for me, are the norm of the day.

How can you overcome that?

 Dig deeper. What’s really holding you back?. What fears are holding you back?. Which insecurities are stopping you from reaching your highest potential? 

• List them down. Know that brutal Honesty is the key. Comprendez amigo? Si? If you’re brutally honest with yourself, you will come up with answers like; ” I’m afraid I will succeed, I’m afraid I will fail, I’m afraid of what others will say, I’m just lazy, I’m really insecure about my weaknesses”. This is the first step. Acknowledging the deeper fears and insecurities while being brutally honest. 

• Starting today, I want you to write down 3 things you wish to accomplish during the week. Not 500 things, just 3. It could be reading for an hour, spending more time with your family and friends, getting your financial statement. At the end of the week, you want to look back and ask, did something happen or not happen ? Ask yourself why or why not? Remember you aren’t sharing this with anyone so don’t sugar coat it

The Power of a Financial statement. 
Simply stated, a financial statement is your report card for the real world. And like a school report card, it shows your performance. Only this time financially. If you don’t know what it is, it’s okay. Speak to your parents, guardians, bosses, bankers about it. There are four categories on the statement. There’s the ;

• Income. The amount of money you earn every month/week/year. It can be ordinary income, passive income or portfolio income. I’d get into those in a later post. 
• Expenses. The amount of money you spend every month/week/year. It includes rent, loans, bills. 
• Asset <3. Yes that’s a heart. Robert T. Kiyosaki (author of Rich dad, Poor dad), defines this as anything which puts money in your pocket. Period. Best explanation ever. Assets include: blogs, businesses, investments, real estates. 
• Liability. Again, Robert T. Kiyosaki, defines this as anything which takes money out of your pocket (I love this guy). 

If you have come this far, you’re really serious about your finances and want to make a change. I’m proud of you :). Don’t give up! 
When I begun three years ago, I drew my own financial statement in excel. Every time I bought something, I referred to it. I needed t know if it were a wise buy or a useless buy. I focused on producing more income. Which meant increasing my asset column. I found ways to leverage my talents and skill. I would reinvest most of the money and have enough to spend guilt free. The first time I spent guilt free, I realized that money could indeed buy happiness. I want to share that with you. The best part of being free is to give back. That’s what I’m going to do in this free course :). 
In this course, I will teach you to use all the tools you have to live a better, richer life. 
You will ; 

1. Learn to break down psychological barriers and self sabotage,
2. Build your “rich” mindset,
3. Learn why debt isn’t all bad and how it can make you make more money,
4. Posses the ability to see both sides of a coin standing on the edge. 

This is a course you must participate in if you read this far! You can call it The Rich Life or finance 101. The best part is, YOU WILL RECEIVE THIS FOR FREE.  Enter your email below to be included on the list. No B.S, No spam, no games.