To Exchange It All or Not?​

To Exchange It All or Not?​

By Muhammad Ali  CurrencyExchangePlanner.com

I was asked this question recently from one of my Currency Exchange Planner customers; his name is Robert from California.   “Will you exchange all IQD or some and hold and wait if it comes out low? “

Now I see 2 sides to this question, I’ll tackle the easy side first, if the value comes out low, for example $1 to 1 Dinar, I would only change a few notes and wait for the value to go higher before changing the bulk of my notes.  How much YOU would change would depend upon how many notes you hold?​

Now, let’s say the value comes out to $4 right away, would I still change all?  Again, I would still only change a few and wait for the rate to rise higher and then change more.  I already have my personal target in mind.​

OK let’s turn this question around, and change the focus from the rate to this: Will you exchange all IQD or some?

Now, I know myself and my limits and limitations, but the answer to this question would be determined by YOU and how well you trust yourself.  I am going to give you a few scenarios and the main purpose of this article is to give you several vantage points for you to consider and think about.​

I have written several articles about the greatest enemy that we will encounter with this currency investment, and that is Sudden Wealth Syndrome, S.W.S.  It will eat us up alive and why is that? Because we failed to plan effectively.  It has proven itself, time and time again, and the statistics proves that, not me.  Statistically speaking 70% of people who receive sudden wealth blow through it within 2 years.  That is the statistics. ​

And for those who have been reading my articles you’ll remember that I talked about having a Work Free and Worry Free lifestyle.  Work free is clear, you’re a multi-millionaire, right?  So who needs to work?  BUT how can we have a worry free lifestyle if we are constantly worrying about SWS?  Does that make sense?​

I covered in my past article, Precious Metals - My Plan B, you can find the article on my website, that one way to provide a worry free lifestyle was to have enough gold and silver as a backup.​

You can find that article and read it again on my website, so I won’t go too much into it here.​

What if, we were to use some of our currency as a backup?  But how can we do that, if we already exchanged it all?   That’s the thing; if we exchange all of our currency then it is bye, bye baby.  She’s all gone, so should we really exchange it all?  So let’s address this and carefully think it through.  There is so much talk of higher rates and contract rates and that we need to get as much as we can get from the go and there’s nothing really wrong with that thinking.  It’s logical. 

But would it have been worth it, to seek after higher rates and only to then blow it all in 2 years?  So it wouldn’t of matter if you received an exchange rate of $4, or $10 or $28, the more you have the faster you might have blown it all away.  Only time will tell on that, and your ability to plan.​

Let’s get back on track here, and if you decided to withhold some of your currency to exchange later on, for example, 5 years from now, if required, first we need to understand the demonetization periods of the notes that we hold.  Meaning the time frame that these notes can be exchanged before they expire.  For the Dinar, we have been told by the previous Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq that the period will be 10 years. 

So let’s say you exchanged ¾ of your Dinars, leaving ¼ in a safe deposit box or safety deposit box, just in case SWS kicks you in the butt and you lose it all in 3 years.  It’s not like you’ll find some guy still selling on eBay for $50 a note, right?  So not a problem, you had a safe guard in place, as you have ¼ of your Dinar stashed away in your box but when you go to exchange it, you find out that Iraq lowered the demonetization period to 2 years!  So now, you’re S.O.L.!​

Remember, when they Re-Instate their rate, they must officially post it on their website, so knowing the exact demonetization period WILL BE VERY IMPORTANT.​

Now how can we avoid this?  It’s very easy actually, by changing the old 25,000 notes to the new Dinar notes and store the new Dinars in your safe deposit box.  The new Dinar notes will not have an expiration date on them.  So this is the worry free way to go about it.  We are worried about the old notes expiring but we wouldn’t need to worry about the new notes, unless of course you left them in the box for 25 years and forgot about them. That’s another story!

So the point to get across here is that you can change some of your old dinars for the new dinars and store those away.  Just in case the rainy days comes around.

And I hear some of you saying, ¼ of my Dinar is a few millions, Muhammad.  Just leaving that to sit in my box seems like a waste.  I could exchange that and put it in a fixed deposit account and make 5% per year and keep that as part of my worry free backup plan.

And I would say, well of course you can, but your money may be locked in a fixed deposit for 1 year; if the currency was in the box then you can liquidate it at any time.

And then you will say, What If I deposit some the IQD in an Iraqi Bank fixed deposit account and leave some in the box.  Then it is all still in Dinar, right?

And I would say, hmmm now you’re thinking.  We know that many of the Iraqi banks are opening locations around the USA, Europe and Asia, so we may not need to go to Iraq to open an account.  You’ll need to further investigate this option.

So we could play Devil’s Advocate and go on and on until we’re blue in the face and believe me, I have done this with myself many times.  It’s actually fun, cause it really gets you to think.  And best of all if you used my Currency Exchange Planner, it’ll help you see the numbers in black and white, instead of in your head. 

Getting the numbers out of your head and onto paper should be your priority.  I still have my CEP on promotion price so if you haven’t picked up your copy of it yet, you can save some money on the purchase price right now.

What I suggest for you, on where to start is, take a blank paper, and write on it, in large print.  WORK FREE – WORRY FREE LIFESTYLE.  And stick it up somewhere that you’ll see it every day.  And that is where your planning will start.  If you can truly plan towards a work free and worry free lifestyle then S.W.S. will never find you.  There are other things that you can do, it just depends upon your creative mind and how you think things through.

The idea behind this lifestyle is that you can travel, where ever you want to go and not worry about money, you can invest and lose and not worry about money, and you can even help others and not worry about money.  Worrying is not an option for you.  To have a TRUE work free – worry free lifestyle will depend upon how much currency you hold now. 

Do you think you can do that with a few notes?  Probably not, but you may be able to achieve one or the other, either work free or worry free, that is possible but it all depends on you and your exchange plan. 

Part of my Work Free plan is to have several bank investments, in low, medium and high risk categories that provide me a stable monthly income. How much I invest and how much you invest would be determined by the amount of currency we each hold.  Everyone’s plans will be different, so just work with what you have.

Part of my Worry Free plan, is to have cash reserves to back up my investment capital and also to have gold and silver to back up my investment reserves.  This way, if my Wealth Manager mismanages my high risk trading account, then I am not worried at all as I have reserve funds as needed.  Trading can continue but with some changes. 

Like I said, the ultimate goal of the Worry Free plan is that you can travel and do other things and not have to worry about money. If your Wealth Manager takes a 2 week vacation and there’s no one monitoring your account, etc., we do not need to be concerned about it. 

We want to be enjoying our lives and not have to be checking charts and watching our account balances go down.  We’ll have safety measures in place for that and we just go fishing.  The amount of reserves you allocate would depend upon you and to the extent that you want to live worry free.

If you have no plan then you’re probably going to fall prey to the S.W.S statistics of the 70% will lose their wealth in 2 years?  I was also made aware that 85% of the millionaires from the Kuwait raise in value lost their wealth in less than 6 months.  That’s even worse!  I waited 14 years for this RV/GCR and I don’t want to lose my wealth in 2 years or 6 months!  And I don’t want my new wealth to stress and worry me out to my grave.  Our new wealth could either be a blessing or a curse and I choose the first.

So please think carefully on what you want to do and I hope my article brings awareness to you and opens the creative tunnels in your mind towards beating S.W.S.  That is the name of the game after all.

​All the best with your planning, and please use my software, the Currency Exchange Planner and the Companion Edition.

Muhammad Ali  www.CurrencyExchangePlanner.com

7 Mistakes Many of Us Are Making With Our Money During the Pandemic

 7 Mistakes Many of Us Are Making With Our Money During the Pandemic

 by The Penny Hoarder Staff

One way or another, we all make mistakes. It’s the human condition.  But right now, in the midst of a pandemic, one thing you don’t want to make mistakes with  is with your money.  Sure, we’ve all let bad financial habits creep up on us. But in these uncertain times, it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re not your own bank account’s worst enemy.

Here are seven mistakes people are making with their money during the pandemic, and what you can do instead.

Mistake 1: Not Pocketing $225 Just for Watching the News

It’s been a historic year in news, and we’re all constantly refreshing for the latest updates. You probably know more than one news-junkie who fancies themselves an expert in respiratory illness or a political mastermind.  And research companies want to pay you to keep watching. You could add up to $225 a month to your pocket by signing up for a free account with InboxDollars. They’ll present you with short news clips to choose from every day, then ask you a few questions about them.  You just have to answer honestly, and InboxDollars will continue to pay you every month.

Unlike other sites, InboxDollars pays you in cash — no points or gift cards. It’s already paid its users more than $56 million.  It takes about one minute to sign up, and start getting paid to watch the news.

Mistake 2: Passing up $500 in Free Stocks

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/save-money/pandemic-mistakes/?aff_id=319

What’s the Best Way to Donate to Charity If You Don’t Have a Lot to Give?

What’s the Best Way to Donate to Charity If You Don’t Have a Lot to Give?

My Two Cents Updated Dec. 22, 2020  By Charlotte Cowles

Every holiday season, my mailbox bursts with mail from every organization I’ve ever donated money to — along with some I’ve never even heard of. Each letter is its own guilt trip, emblazoned with homeless polar bears and burning trees, and I always feel bad throwing them out. (Which is the intention — and research shows it works: 30 percent of all annual giving occurs in December.) I understand the message — if I was able to give money to these organizations in the past, couldn’t I scrounge up a few bucks again, especially at the end of this hellish year?

While I’ve certainly made my share of random donations, I’m trying to be more strategic these days. According to Debra Mesch, the director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University, my previous tendencies to make small, spontaneous donations without any long-term vision is very common, but not always constructive.

It’s also more typical among women — we give money more often than men, but we tend to sprinkle it around, and in lower amounts. “Women often don’t even realize how much they’ve spent on philanthropic causes,” Mesch told me. “A friend will say, ‘Oh, I’m running in this marathon for breast cancer, can you give $50?’ Men don’t do that as much, but women want to support their friends. So they spread out their giving.”

There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with this tactic — by all means, give money to your friends’ causes. And it’s true that every dollar helps. But if you fritter away various gifts without a larger intention, you’re more likely to lose track of them and miss out on the biggest reward of philanthropy: the satisfaction of getting fired up about a problem and doing something meaningful to fix it.

The first step is to self-evaluate. When I spoke with Barbara Stanny, a financial therapist who has written seven books about money management, she was very stern about the necessary groundwork. “The four rules of money: You spend less, you save more, you invest wisely, and you give generously — in that order,” she said. “If you don’t, not only do you sabotage your own future security, but you diminish the impact you can make.”

Stanny also believes that, when done properly, giving money away can also inspire people to make and save more of it. “I was working with an artist who made decent money, but she would just spend it all,” she said. “To get her to be a better steward of her money, I said, ‘Imagine you had more money than you needed. What would you use it for?’ And she got all excited about supporting nonprofits for artists. It shifted everything. What seemed absolutely boring and stupid — managing money — suddenly became interesting to her, because there was a greater purpose.”

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.thecut.com/article/how-to-donate-to-charity-and-make-the-most-impact.html

10 Questions From a Beginner Investor

10 Questions From a Beginner Investor

By MONKWEALTH

If you’re researching investing, you’re most probably having some uncertainties that need to be addressed.

By no means a complete list can be compiled to answer every question a beginner might have, but here are a few I’ve heard lately. So, if you overcome investing fear but still aren’t ready to take the leap, let’s see if this post can help with some of your concerns.   Isn’t investing risky?  Compared to what?

The best way to resolve this concern is by distinguishing between:

Investing and trading  -  Investing and gambling  -  Investing and betting

I rarely talk highly of things I created, but I think I did a pretty good job of illustrating the difference between each of those in Become an Investor.  And the best part? You don’t need to buy it to read it – the first chapter is available on Amazon as a preview, so you can check it out for free right now.   Become an Investor on Amazon

 But what about investing being risky compared to not investing?  Then you need to learn about inflation. The post Cash vs Stocks in 30 Years is also a great resource to target this concern.

I think Elon Musk has revolutionary ideas. Why not invest everything in Tesla?  Interesting…  Not the most thorough financial analysis, but a sweet one.  Well… Don’t ask me. What do you think is the answer to the question if you should invest in Tesla because you think Elon Musk has a vision?

I mean, I agree with the statement, but doesn’t it imply that the board or CEO of every other successful company lacks vision? Because every cent you put into something is a cent that won’t be used elsewhere, so why TSLA specifically?

At the end, if you did your due diligence, you can enter with an adequate part of your portfolio. But make sure to have the rest of your wealth allocated in a diversified portfolio and get properly compensated for the systemic risk you’re assuming anyway.

What is a diversified portfolio?

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://monkwealth.com/10-questions-from-a-beginner-investor/

Treat Your Life Like a Business

Treat Your Life Like a Business

By MONKWEALTH

Some people got lucky and made millions. Some people were disciplined and got rich slowly. However, adopting certain principles can make us eliminate the factor of luck in business and in life. Maybe not completely but enough to feel sufficient control over our project. In this post I want to point out a few non-exclusive factors that may significantly improve our lives. The idea is in the title: Treating our lives as a business. And if we’d do a good job in achieving what’s considered success in life, applying the same principles in a corporate environment would be a joke. Winning at life is much more rare than career success.

Don’t overspend - It always starts here. Know your budget. Allocate it properly. Don’t borrow without a plan. Have a fund that can cover your expenses for a few months. Regardless of whether we talk about business or life, going into high interest debt is extremely risky, especially when certain levels of cash-flows are not already established. Although debt can be used as a leverage given a proper strategy, it can also be a fast track to a bankruptcy. So use with caution – or don’t if you have the slightest doubt in what you’re doing.

But what’s even more important is where you allocate your spending.  Do you buy items that serve no real purpose and have non-positive ROI? Both in life in business these can be abstracted away as indulgences without long-term value, usually purchased because of human instincts and insecurities.

On the other hand, you can buy assets – things that give value in return. These can be your employees and tools & technology as a business, or long-term investments and education as a private individual. The amount of overlap is huge.

You want that debt-to-equity low.  While at it, utilize financial reporting. Have a balance sheet.  Know what you own, know what you owe.  And if you still haven’t, develop a thorough understanding of your cash flows.

Market research & Strategy

Never jump in the waters without a plan. It’s your responsibility to know the environment you’re operating in. Know your customer. Know your audience. Know your obstacles. Know the framework you’re a part of – learn about the government, the economy, the tax system… Understand supply and demand. It’s in your best interest to understand the rules of the game you’re playing and leverage them to your advantage.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:
https://monkwealth.com/treat-your-life-like-a-business/

5 Money Myths and Misconceptions

5 Money Myths and Misconceptions

By MONKWEALTH

We all have misconceptions.

A field that’s especially misunderstood by the average person is personal finance. People are prone to believe various myths about money and end up sad, poor, and frustrated as a consequence.

This post is aimed to that segment of the general population – the people who think money is evil, that time is money, or that “the rich” owe them something.  Enjoy.

1. Money Can’t Make You Happy

Okay, I agree.  Money can’t make you happy, indeed.  However, no money also can’t make you happy. Mind blown, right?   I don’t fully understand how some people connect money to happiness in an exclusive way. But I understand that many use it as an excuse to indulge in excessive self-sabotage by disregarding the importance of personal finance.

In reality, it’s similar to saying: “a brick (or whatever) can’t make you happy” or in other words: irrelevant and unnecessary.  So yes, “money“, as any other single thing in the world, can’t make you happy by itself.

We should seek happiness elsewhere.  Because no money is not the solution, 100%.

With that said, try to compare the experience of a sad/heart broken/depressive person with and without money. Who do you think will have the better experience? A person whose family member died and he doesn’t need to think about financial problems at the worst possible times or a person whose family member died but can’t cover funeral expenses, is already drowned in debt, will lose his job if he doesn’t show up tomorrow, and risks being kicked out of his apartment, facing homelessness and hunger as a consequence?

It’s not a case of happiness. It’s a case of opportunity. Being wealthy is always superior to not. And the fact that some rich people are miserable doesn’t prove anything. Some poor people are miserable too. People are miserable regardless of money.

Conclusion: the truthfulness of “money can’t make you happy” is irrelevant and thus shouldn’t be even mentioned. It especially mustn’t be a mental block for earning more, developing financial literacy, investing, getting rich, or pursuing FIRE.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://monkwealth.com/5-money-myths-and-misconceptions/

Tony Robbins’ 8-Point Guide to Reversing Your Fortunes in 2021

Tony Robbins’ 8-Point Guide to Reversing Your Fortunes in 2021

By Matt Crossman | December 13, 2020

What’s left to say about 2020 that hasn’t already been said? Dumpster fires and train wrecks think it was a bad year.

When viewed through the narrow prism of work, it was a nightmare for companies big and small, for entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, employees, freelancers, members of the gig economy, and everybody in between. Maybe for you 2020 was bad enough to prompt, or even require, a reimagining of your work, your focus, or your dreams. Tony Robbins feels your pain. He knows, understands and shares in what you’re going through because he went through it, too

A life and business strategist, No. 1 New York Times best-selling author, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Robbins spent decades traveling the world speaking in front of thousands of people, and all of that disappeared seemingly in an instant. But did the end of large gatherings forecast the end of Robbins? Nope.

He looked for solutions; finding them took time. The low-hanging fruit fix—speaking via Zoom—didn’t appeal to him. He dreamed bigger than that and eventually landed on an innovative and expansive way to use video—think of it as a worldwide, interactive video call on steroids. And now what once seemed like a disaster for his lifelong purpose of helping people could enable him reach more people than ever. He plans to speak to a million or more viewers for one gig in January.

He wants you to reach new heights, too. It won’t be easy. But what fun would it be if it was? You are probably nervous, timid or afraid. All of that, Robbins says, is natural. The key is not to figure out a way to not be afraid or pretend those fears aren’t real or valid. They are. The key is to forge ahead anyway, in the face of your fears. It’s not courage, Robbins says, if you’re not afraid.

“Courage is a muscle,” he says. “You have to start using it.”

In the wake of so much change, uncertainty and opportunity, SUCCESS asked Robbins for his step-by-step guide to starting from scratch. Here, he offers tips on how to navigate your life and career in 2021, the year of your comeback:

#1 Be careful how you frame this situation to yourself.

When answering questions about how readers might “start over” in 2021, Robbins pushed back against that mindset. He encouraged solopreneurs to instead see their turnaround (his word) in a different way.

Call it a comeback, Robbins says, and you will feel like the leading character in a powerful story.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.success.com/tony-robbins-8-point-guide-to-reversing-your-fortunes-in-2021/

10 Ways You Can Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is This Holiday Season

10 Ways You Can Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is This Holiday Season

By Sarah Paulk | December 17, 2020

Like everything else in 2020, the holidays are in upheaval. Even a visit to see Santa means a socially distanced photo complete with face shields and masks. But unlike everything else in 2020, gift giving has not been postponed. In fact, maintaining simple traditions like wrapping and gifting presents can be an incredible stabilizer when it feels like the world around us is anything but.

The trick in this chaotic year is to find gifts that are meaningful and relevant. A lot of people on our lists are working from home, eating takeout at home and ordering their essentials from home, so gifting anything that signals dressing up or going out is bound to gather dust. Concerts, movies, wine tastings—events that make us crave a shared experience with strangers—don’t make much sense this year, and diamond earrings don’t exactly match the house slippers and sweatpants that have become a part of Zoom call chic. 

What Christmas in 2020 calls for is an upgraded gifting experience. We need the enduring traditions that celebrate those we love, while acknowledging the unsettling effects of this difficult year, and the intensifying needs and suffering around us.

Generosity is always important, but in the wake of an industry-crushing pandemic, shopping as compassionate consumers who use their money to honor loved ones while making a positive impact on the people and world around us is the redeeming gift that 2020 has been waiting for.

Don’t worry, philanthropic gifting doesn’t have to mean a one-size-fits-all donation to a charity that your recipient might not feel connected to. Shop this customized catalog of ideas to find perfectly tailored gifts that give back for every person on your list:

Your Boss

Make a wise investment in your career and in the lives of underserved women microentrepreneurs with the unique Kiva gift card that allows your boss to choose from a wide variety of qualified borrowers, make an investment, and help other business-minded leaders from around the world get their venture off the ground. When the loan is repaid, they can cash out or choose another borrower to invest in, keeping the cycle of loans that change lives growing for months or years to come.    www.kiva.org

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.success.com/10-ways-you-can-put-your-money-where-your-heart-is-this-holiday-season/ 

Warren Buffett's 6 Ways To Keep Your Finances Healthy During COVID

Warren Buffett's 6 Ways To Keep Your Finances Healthy During COVID

Doug Whiteman  Sat, December 19, 2020

COVID-19 and recession it caused have been hitting everyone — including 90-year-old investing legend Warren Buffett.

At his massive conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the pandemic "has adversely affected nearly all of our operations, although the effects are varying significantly," the company said in its latest quarterly earnings release, in early November.  But even with the challenges, Berkshire reported an 82% jump in net profit for the July-through-September quarter — so, billionaire Buffett would seem to be weathering the crisis just fine.

You can, too, if you follow his lead. Here are takeaways from six bits of Buffett wisdom to protect your money as the virus rampages on.

Capitalize on low interest rates

Buffett became one of the wealthiest people on the planet by capitalizing on opportunities. He has pointed to fantastic opportunities for borrowers in 2020, thanks to the Federal Reserve.

The Fed "did the right thing" by cutting a key interest rate almost to zero in response to the virus, Buffett says. Other rates have fallen like dominoes throughout the economy.

"This is a very good time to borrow money, which means it may not be such a great time to lend money, but it’s good for the country that it’s a good time to borrow money," he said during Berkshire Hathaway's online shareholders meeting earlier this year.

How you can be like Buffett: If you're a homebuyer or homeowner and have a solid credit score, grab one of today's all-time-low mortgage rates while you can.  At the moment you can find rates on new and refinance mortgages at 2.50% or lower, if you shop around and compare mortgage offers from multiple lenders.

Keep your guard up

Buffett said a 'megacatastrophe' was coming.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warren-buffett-says-keep-finances-224300612.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=2_15

5 Tips for Retiring a Millionaire From ‘Shark Tank’ Star Kevin O’Leary

5 Tips for Retiring a Millionaire From ‘Shark Tank’ Star Kevin O’Leary

by Robin Hartill, CFP®

Ready to start investing your way to millionaire status? Follow these five investing tips from O’Leary.

1. Expect saving money to be really hard.

O’Leary believes that pretty much everyone is wasting money on something. But when you commit to saving and investing that money instead, keeping that commitment isn’t easy. “No matter what happens that week, no matter how bad that week was, you have to have the discipline of finding $100 and putting it to work,” he said.

The world wants to take money from you, the “Shark Tank” star says. You’re bombarded with the temptation to spend money, whether it’s on new jeans, sneakers, games or phones.

“For all the stuff that the rest of the world wants you to give them money for, you have to have discipline,” he said. “And it’s really hard to say, ‘No. This $100 is for me.’”

2. Have a long-term investment strategy.

O’Leary has made millions and lost millions. He admits he’s made some “really stupid choices along the way.” But he’s always taken a portion of the wins and put them aside in long-term investments to secure his family’s future. “If you have no long-term investment strategy, you’re naked in the wind, and you’re in a very bad place when you reach 65,” he said.

3. Use history as your guide.

Some years the market will be up, and some years it will be down. There are no guarantees in investing, of course, but history is a pretty good guide. If you trust the stock market to do what it’s done historically, which is deliver average annual returns of 6% to 8%, “you’ll retire at 65 to 68 with a million and a half bucks in the bank,” O’Leary said.

4. Understand the difference between speculation and investing.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/retirement/investing-tips-from-kevin-oleary/

Anthony ONeal Can Help You Get Out of Debt

Anthony ONeal Can Help You Get Out of Debt

By Jamie Friedlander | October 21, 2020 | 0

When Anthony ONeal was 19 years old, he got kicked out of college for participating in a fraternity hazing event. He had racked up $35,000 in debt—a combination of credit card bills, furniture bills and student loans. He was homeless and sleeping in his old, run-down car. He showered at the YMCA.

ONeal’s dad eventually agreed to let him move back in with him, under the condition that he’d get his life—and finances—in order. He handed him an old-school Dave Ramsey budget form to get started.

Now 36, ONeal is not only thriving financially, but he is a personal finance expert, a national best-selling author and speaker with Ramsey Solutions who regularly joins Dave Ramsey’s nationally recognized personal finance show. He’s debt-free and recently purchased his first home in Columbia, Tennessee—a 2,500-square-foot custom build. He just bought his dream car and recently sent his parents on vacation abroad for the first time in their lives. He’s written three books about student loan debt, although he’s planning to expand to other finance topics beginning with his fourth. He hosts a popular YouTube show, and has a robust social media presence, with more than 250,000 followers.

ONeal’s homeless, debt-stricken days might be long behind him, but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten about them. Now his life purpose is helping other young people—primarily millennials and minorities—get out of the same trap he found himself in over a decade ago.

“I’m trying to teach this generation that just because you have a budget, just because you have a plan and goals for your life and just because you live below your means doesn’t mean you’re broke and doesn’t mean you’re less of a person,” he says. “It just means you really value your future.”

The best advice ever: The greatest piece of wisdom Anthony ONeal ever received? That the caliber of his future will be determined by the choices he makes now.

One day, ONeal walked into a hotel room, and an elderly woman was cleaning his room. She was moving so slowly she could barely walk.

“I said, ‘Don’t worry about cleaning up my room, I’m a young man and I just need some lotion because it’s 40 degrees here and I’m Black and ashy,’ ” ONeal says, laughing. She gave him the lotion, and as she was walking to the door, she turned around and looked at him.

“Son, use your youthfulness wisely,” she said. “I’m still here cleaning up your room at 85 years old because when I was your age, I didn’t make the right decisions.”

“[This advice] is simple and people hear it all the time, but it really resonated with me,” ONeal says. “Every decision I make is impacting my future self.”

A Serendipitous Journey

ONeal’s “aha” moment didn’t happen when he was homeless, $35,000 in debt and living in his car, but rather once he moved in with his dad in Oceanside, California, a suburb of San Diego.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU8LwGt_cpc&feature=emb_logo

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