The Habit of Becoming Wealthy

The Habit of Becoming Wealthy

By Mr. Refined · Published June 8, 2018 · Updated January 5, 2021

If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them

The Habit of becoming Wealthy Habits of the Ultra-Successful

There I was, scouring the internet, podcasts, and blogs for the knowledge to outpace all of my contemporaries in success. I had been studying self-made millionaires and billionaires for a couple of years. Reading biographies, the books they publish and studying their decision trees throughout their careers.

I knew that a select few top performers achieved extremely more significant success than others that started with the same amount of time, intelligence, education, and money. So what made them different? What sets them apart? Why do some of my high school classmates that never went to college make more money than a ReFIned man with a few degrees and an indomitable spirit? How can I be one of the top performers and put myself in positions needed for advancement and success?

I started to see common threads or trend lines in this data set of the millionaires and billionaires I had been studying. I discovered that they didn’t go to sleep poor and wake up rich one day but rather their success came from lots of long days, commitment to continued learning, willingness to adopt new skills, discipline to work to a large more distant goal in spite of little measurable accomplishment in the near term.

The predominant trends that immerged seemed not to be directly correlated to published models of success. What I was searching for was a strategic trend of investment portfolios, business development paths or asset control that I could duplicate. The trends that proved to be most common where lackluster, less than sexy simple habits rather than breakthrough moments or once in a lifetime opportunities.

“Excellence is not a singlular act but a habit. You are what you do repeatedly.”  – Aristotle

So then why do all the lucky break moments make the news in the stories of success we commonly hear about? Because they are the exception, not the rule. Because they are abnormal. Because they are sexy. Most billionaires have very unsexy careers of discipline and hard work. Each deal is only slightly better than the last. No one is going to watch that new story. Imagine the news anchor describing Warren Buffet’s Thursday, which was exactly like his Wednesday, which was exactly like his Tuesday. “There he is folks! At his desk, reading a book again! Oh, wait folks, he set the book down and picked up another book.” yet that is what making a billionaire looks like. Warren Buffet admits in interviews that he spends 5-8 hours a day reading.

Good News/Bad News

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

https://refinedbyfire.co/the-habit-of-becoming-wealthy/

How to Teach Kids About Money, Saving & Investing

How to Teach Kids About Money, Saving & Investing: Lesson 7

By Mr. Refined · January 5, 2021 · Updated January 12, 2021

What Stocks To Invest In For Kids

We discussed a lot in this series but there are a few more important points to cover. What stocks to invest in for kids is a keystone to this entire conversation. As you know, I am an insatiable optimizer, so, what complicated derivatives and cover option did we go with? Well, hold the phone, this is not my investment portfolio this is my kids’ investment portfolio the investment products must be suitable for the investor, so let’s look at how this all played out there is a lesson to be had. But, before we get there, one must inspire before one empowers.

Now, I could put my kids in a boring ol’ index fund for low fees and the simplest possible management over time. But that is zero fun for a kid. These may be popular investment products in the FIRE community but that simply won’t cut it for an eight-year-old.

While JL Collins makes many great points in his book The Simple Path to Wealth for that being the lowest effort and lowest cost path to market returns, I knew that approach was never going to get the kids’ wheels spinning.  It was not going to elevate my kids’ excitement level to the critical mass necessary for my kids’ to not only stick with investing but also have something to brag to their friends about. No worries, I have a solution for that.

What Did My Kids Invest In

After opening their investment accounts and transferring in money, I had to wait a few days for the account’s funds to settle. I was driving the kids home one day while the funds were settling and I decided to make that day into an investment field trip so that is exactly what I told the kids. I told them it was time for a spontaneous field trip to their favorite stores to learn about investing in companies.

We passed all the storefronts as we drove through town. I asked the kids if they could own any company they wanted, which companies would they own? They shouted out McDonald’s, KFC, and several others. So, we pulled into McDonald’s I told them they could eat there if they could tell me enough reasons McDonald’s was a smart business to own. While we don’t eat there often, it is OK to spoil them a little around the things that you want them to take an interest in.

The Incentive Determines the Outcome

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

https://refinedbyfire.co/how-to-teach-kids-about-money-saving-investing-lesson-7/

Millions Won't Get Stimulus Money Before The IRS Cut-Off Date

Millions Won't Get Stimulus Money Before The IRS Cut-Off Date

Cara Shillenn  Fri, January 15, 2021, 7:00 AM

A chunk of stimulus payments are missing in action, thanks to a mix up that put as many as 13 million checks into invalid bank accounts.

Why it matters: The IRS (by law) was supposed to get all payments out by Friday. Now the onus could shift to Americans to claim the money on their tax refund — further delaying relief to struggling, lower-income Americans.

What's going on: The newest COVID-19 relief bill — signed in the final days of 2020 — mandated the $600 payment to those making up to $75,000 per year (or 150,000 for joint filers) get out by Jan. 15.

The fast turnaround meant “some payments may have been sent to an account that may be closed or, is or no longer active, or unfamiliar,” according to the IRS website.

To get a sense of the speed: It took 19 days to distribute half the first-round payments last spring, but two-thirds of payments were out the door just a week after the latest bill became law, according to an analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Billions of those dollars are in the process of being returned to the IRS by tax preparers because of the error, though the IRS would not say how many payments were incorrectly deposited.

Jackson Hewitt estimates funds were deposited in 13 million accounts that were no longer open.

How it works: These accounts are typically set up by tax prep companies, most often used by financially constrained taxpayers to get their refunds faster.

You can check the status of your stimulus payment — and whether you can expect it by paper check, debit card or direct deposit — here.   https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/millions-wont-stimulus-money-irs-120036798.html

The 8 Safest Ways to Invest Your Money if You’re Terrified of Risk

The 8 Safest Ways to Invest Your Money if You’re Terrified of Risk

by Robin Hartill, CFP®

Think back to what the stock market looked like to you in March 2020, aka, the apocalypse. Did it look like:

A.) The biggest bargain sale you’ve ever seen in your lifetime? Or B.) A burning pit of money that was about to incinerate your life’s savings? If you answered “B,” you probably have a low risk tolerance. You worry more about losing money than missing out on the opportunity to make more of it.

Being cautious about how you invest your money is a good thing. But if you’re so risk-averse that you avoid investing altogether, you’re putting your money at greater risk than you think.

Do Safe Investments Actually Exist?

When you think about the risks of investing, you probably think about losing principal, i.e., the original amount you invested. If you keep your money in a bank account, there’s virtually no chance of that happening because deposits of up to $250,000 are FDIC insured.

But consider that the average savings account pays just 0.05% APY, while in 2019, inflation was about 2.3%.

So while you’re not at risk of losing principal, you still face purchasing power risk, which is the risk that your money loses value. Your money needs to earn enough to keep up with inflation to avoid losing purchasing power. If inflation continues at 2.3%, buying $100 worth of groceries will cost you $102.30 a year from now. If you’re saving over decades toward retirement, you’ll be able to buy a whole lot less groceries in your golden years.

There’s also the risk of missed opportunity. By playing it too safe, you’re unlikely to earn the returns you need to grow into a sufficient nest egg.

Though there’s no such thing as a risk-free investment, there are plenty of safe ways to invest your money.

8 Low-Risk Investments for People Who Hate Losing Money

Here are eight options that are good for conservative investors. (Spoiler: Gold, bitcoin and penny stocks did not make our list.

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

https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/investing/safe-investments/?aff_sub2=homepage

Don’t Worry - Be Resilient By Charles Hugh Smith

Don’t Worry - Be Resilient By Charles Hugh Smith

Reduce fragility and vulnerability

At some point, absorbing more information about the unsustainability of modern society yields diminishing returns. It becomes emotionally draining and thus counterproductive. Part of this exhaustion results from recognizing our powerlessness within the Status Quo, where independent thinking and structural innovation are intentionally winnowed out as threats to existing institutions and industries.

Another part arises from the burden of knowing that the supposedly permanent Status Quo is far more vulnerable than generally believed. I have described the psychology of knowing what lies ahead in The Burden of Knowing. A related factor that is never publicly discussed is the negative impact on our mental health of all the propaganda that we are force-fed by the Mainstream Media (MSM). When truth is incrementally undermined by massaged data and behind-the-façade manipulation, we lose faith in key State and media institutions and suffer from a propaganda-induced disconnect between what we see and what is reported as fact.

These 'burdens of knowing' can diminish the small but real joys of the present: work we like, a home-cooked meal, and time spent with our friends and family. As a result, many smart, well-informed people consciously refuse to dwell on our systemic problems because doing so “is a downer.” These folks hold the perspective that anxiety about the future should not get in the way of the simple pleasures of living.

This attitude can be described as “don’t worry; be happy.” And it certainly makes sense when life is still comfortable and enjoyable. But the philosophy of “thinking about the future is a downer, so I live in the present” ultimately rests on a false confidence that the future will take care of itself, regardless of what happens to the large-scale systems of State, finance, and resources.

It overlooks the reality that not all responses to instability or devolution are equally successful. Those who are totally dependent on the Central State and speculation-based markets will have a much more difficult time maintaining their "happy” view if the systems they depend on erode or fail.

Perhaps the wiser response is “don’t worry; be resilient.” The resilient household can be happy not only in the present surplus of energy, entitlements, goods, and services, but can also thrive in a future where the current surplus of cash, credit, and speculative gains has dried up.

What is Resilience?

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

https://www.peakprosperity.com/dont-worry-be-resilient/

Three Secrets of Self-Made Billionaire Investors

Three Secrets of Self-Made Billionaire Investors

Investing Outlook  By Dan Ferris

Warren Buffett was born in 1930 and became a child of the Great Depression. Today he’s worth in excess of $75 billion.

George Soros was born the same year, and became a child of the Great Depression, the Holocaust and WWII. According to Forbes, he’s worth nearly $10 billion.

Carl Icahn was born in 1936. He was once so broke he had to sell his car to feed himself. Forbes says he’s worth around $20 billion today.  All started with nothing. All wound up billionaires. All did it by investing.

At first glance, they don’t seem to have much in common… Buffett buys stocks and whole companies and says his favorite holding period for investments is “forever.” Soros became a billionaire by making huge leveraged trades in stocks and currencies. Icahn buys controlling stakes in public companies and badgers management to sell assets, buy back shares and do anything to realize hidden value.

But they do have some traits in common, a few core investing ideas that helped make them billionaires. Like every great secret of life, this one is hiding in plain sight. These three self-made billionaire investors…

Don’t diversify

Consider what is likely your greatest source of wealth generation: your career. You probably haven’t diversified at all in your career. Even if you tried many different careers, you were never doing several of them at once. And, even if you do more than one job, it’s highly likely you spend the great majority of your time at just one of them and that just one provides the great majority of your income.

Why should investing be any different?

For many years, Buffett had most of Berkshire Hathaway’s money in just four stocks: American Express, Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo, and Gillette. Today, most of Berkshire Hathaway’s money is still in just four stocks: Wells Fargo, Coca-Cola, IBM, and American Express.

Avoid risk

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

https://investingoutlook.co/the-three-secrets-of-self-made-billionaire-investors/

Dave Ramsey Says These Are 10 Reasons You're Not Getting Ahead

Dave Ramsey Says These Are 10 Reasons You're Not Getting Ahead

Sarah Cunnane Sat, January 9, 2021

Talk-radio host Dave Ramsey says you can solve your money troubles just as soon as you stop causing them. The money management guru has been doling out his signature blend of tough-love financial advice and Biblical wisdom since 1992. He learned it all the hard way: In his 20s, Ramsey built a million-dollar fortune flipping houses but lost it all when banks started calling in his debts. He had to buckle down to build back up from bankruptcy.

Now his radio show is syndicated on more than 600 stations, and he’s the author of several books. He teaches Americans how to save more money and avoid wallowing in debt — even during the current financial crisis. Dave Ramsey says these are 10 reasons you're not getting ahead Talk-radio host Dave Ramsey says you can solve your money troubles just as soon as you stop causing them.

The money management guru has been doling out his signature blend of tough-love financial advice and Biblical wisdom since 1992. He learned it all the hard way: In his 20s, Ramsey built a million-dollar fortune flipping houses but lost it all when banks started calling in his debts. He had to buckle down to build back up from bankruptcy.

Now his radio show is syndicated on more than 600 stations, and he’s the author of several books. He teaches Americans how to save more money and avoid wallowing in debt — even during the current financial crisis.

Here are 10 reasons you're not getting ahead, according to Dave Ramsey.

1. You're trying to tackle your biggest debts first

When you’re deep in debt with multiple loans, freeing yourself can seem impossible. That’s why Ramsey suggests the “debt snowball method.”  Rather than start with the loan with the highest interest rate, Ramsey says to pay off the loan with the lowest balance first, making only minimum payments on the rest. The idea is that each small victory inspires you to tackle bigger challenges.

“It’s more about behavior change than numbers. Once your income is freed up, you can finally use it to make progress toward your savings goals,” Ramsey explains on his website.  The snowball method is one of Ramsey's most common pieces of advice but it's also controversial. If your credit score is hurting, it may be better to use an online service that can help you determine which bills to pay off first to get your score back up.

2. You rationalize about making frivolous purchases

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

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dave-ramsey-says-10-reasons-150000383.html

Money Lies and Financial Dishonesty

Money Lies and Financial Dishonesty

October 1, 2019 by One Frugal Girl

 “The slickest way in the world to lie is to tell the right amount of truth at the right time-and then shut up.”― Robert A. Heinlein

Detecting Lies and Half-Truths

I have a knack for evaluating a person’s character quickly and accurately. A friend of mine calls it a unique sixth-sense; an uncommon ability to recognize the truthfulness and sincerity in a stranger’s words.  I can read body language like a psychic reads tea leaves or a palm reader examines the lines in your hand. I recognize the subtle physical clues others can’t see or choose to ignore.   The truth often reveals itself through unusual hand gestures, facial expressions, vocal changes and eye movement. In person it’s easy for me to spot the discrepancies between baseline behavior, (what’s normal in non-threatening conditions), and the atypical body language of someone who is acting dishonestly.

This works great when I meet someone face-to-face, but unfortunately it has no relevance in today’s digital world. These days we are masked by the Internet. We are hidden behind computer screens where facial expressions and body language are no longer visible to those with whom we communicate. We coexist in a binary, data-driven society that provides zero clues about our honesty. It enables us to invent things like ‘fake news’.

As I sit in front of my computer screen I can’t observe the emotions and mannerisms of the story tellers weaving their tales. None of us can, so how can we distinguish fact from fiction? Are we being told the truth, a partial truth or an out-and-out lie?  How often are people honest on the Internet particularly when it comes to money? How often do you believe the presented facts and how often do you question them?   Are we Being Honest or Crafting an Illusion?

As a personal finance enthusiast I’ve read a lot of blogs about money, income, success and failure. As a blogger I’ve written over 1700 posts on those same topics. I’ve used this blog as a online financial journal of sorts. The story began a few years after graduation and has continued, (except for a short hiatus), for more than thirteen years.

All along the way I took pride in my honesty and integrity. I told the story to the best of my ability. This is my truth, or so I thought, but as I read the words of others I’m not so sure.  As personal finance enthusiasts and bloggers are we telling the whole truth or are we inadvertently crafting an illusion of what we’ve accomplished and who we are?

Money Lies

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

https://www.onefrugalgirl.com/2019/10/money-lies-half-truths-and-financial-dishonesty/

21 Things You Need to Try in 2021

21 Things You Need to Try in 2021

Anti-New Year’s Resolution: 21 Things You Need to Try in 2021

Hey! want to know how I made $100,000 outside of my career the last 3 years? Get your copy of my Side Hustle ACTION Guide here and learn how to start making money on the side using these proven steps that have helped me!

2021 is right around the corner, and you know what that means…  New Year's Resolutions!

For many of us, we cannot wait for it to be 2020 and to kiss 2021 goodbye for good!  But, if you happen to be like most adults who aim to use the turning of a new year as an unofficial restart button, you've most likely started creating a list… A list that has already begun to fill a half sheet of paper with all the normal boring New Year's Resolution stuff such as:

Lose weight, Eat healthy (whatever that means),  Workout more,  Pay off your debt,  Be nicer to your spouse,  Save more money,  Stop eating out, and etc., etc.  And you are probably telling yourself this is the year that will be the year.

No doubt, 2021 will be the year you finally stick to your New Year Resolutions. You are going to make it happen. There will be no turning back and you will finally hit all of your goals! The last 15 years are behind you… you mean business! But then, something happens… in what seems like an instant, February 1st rolls around and you have already resorted to looking towards 2022! 

So what if instead of adopting a million goals for 2021, you joined the “Anti-New's Year Resolution” movement and focused on things to try in 2021?

2021, The Anti-New Year's Resolution

Statistically speaking, by mid-February, all the goals most adults set for the new year are null and void. February marks the month they have stopped saving money, quit their diet and the gym is just too packed to keep going every day.

If you happen to be relating to this it is probably because you, like myself, are a human. And all of us humans are habit-forming creatures. And when we say things like “This is the year I finally do it, or “I am gonna finally change this,” what we are really saying is we want to change some habits!

According to Statista.com, the most common New Year’s Resolutions are:

Eat less, Workout more, and Save money.

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

https://moneylifewax.com/things-to-try-2021-new-year-resolutions/

Money Is the Megaphone of Identity

Money Is the Megaphone of Identity

By Lawrence Yeo

There was an extended period of time in my twenties when I didn’t have a job. For most of us, that’s not a big deal. We have our whole lives ahead of us to work, so taking a few months off to “find yourself” can be completely justifiable. Well, let’s just say that wasn’t the case for me.

I spent sleepless nights scouring job postings for any company that might be interested in what little I had to offer. I smacked that “Upload Resume” button around like it was my arch nemesis, but made sure to carefully upload the proper file format before doing so.  My days consisted of nothing but napping, eating, uploading, and submitting. To put it mildly, I was in a state of panic to find some sort of work.  Some might have viewed this obsessive job search as an impressive character trait. It may have masqueraded as a signal of ambition, an indicator that I was a guy that had his priorities straight.

The truth, however, was far from that. I wasn’t driven by some magnificent search for purpose, or the nagging desire to provide value to society. I was driven by something far less chivalrous:

My intense, terrifying fear of being homeless.

For the longest time, this fear is what drove my panicked desire to find stable, well-paying work (regardless of how pointless it was). I thought that as long as I could save some money with each paycheck, I wouldn’t have to sleep in the streets if something went awry.

Some of you may understand this fear, while others may view it as deeply irrational. I know people from wealthy backgrounds who have this fear, and people raised on welfare that don’t. My family didn’t have much money growing up, but that doesn’t quite justify the existence of this strain of fright.

Regardless of its origin, this fear was very much alive in me throughout my twenties, and it framed my perspective of money. Instead of viewing money as a generator of wealth, I saw it as an immediate safety net that (barely) kept me away from living on freeway on-ramps. The more of it I had, the more relief and distance it gave me from the streets.

Falling Into Money Safety Net

Well, many years have passed since then, and fortunately, I no longer have this fear.1 However, that doesn’t mean that I no longer think about money. It’s the greatest story humanity has ever subscribed to, so it will always be a central character in the theater of everyday life. What has changed isn’t money itself, but the way in which it colors the way I view the world.

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

https://moretothat.com/money/

The Micro and Macro Building Blocks of Wealth

The Micro and Macro Building Blocks of Wealth

By Billy B | Money

I had an epiphany this week:  Our financial present and futures are created from all of the micro-and-macro financial decisions in our pasts.  From a personal perspective, as I look back on my life, it wasn’t one lucky break or genius skill that sent us skyrocketing toward being rich.  It was a routine set of every-day decisions, mindset, and attitude, on a micro and macro level, that led us be become relatively wealthy ($266K net worth), in a relatively short amount of time (6 years.)

As I realized this, my mind was thrust into a time-traveling speed warp.  My entire life appeared in a collage of memories.   These visions contained all of the micro and macro decisions I’ve made throughout my lifetime.  These memories were the primordial substance that grew into the present and future I am living now.  As I stared into the collage of old memories, I saw our wealth is just a collection of micro and macro financial decisions that put us on the right path.   Below is a list of the best micro-and-macro decisions that helped us succeed with our money:

Macro Decision #1: Skip the Expensive Wedding.

In 2015. we were in love and wanted to get married.  But weddings are crazy-expensive and we wanted our marriage to start on a financially strong foundation.  So we had a decision to make:  Pay for an expensive wedding.  Or do it on a tiny budget and learn how to invest the money we did have.  We chose to avoid an expensive wedding by getting married for $600 in my parent’s living room with immediate-family only.  We cooked a steak dinner after as a group, and we rode off into the sunset as a newly married couple with a lot of money still in our pockets.

It was a liberating, and stress-free experience to start building the life we wanted from day #1 of our marriage, rather than feeling the pressure to host and pay for a wedding that other people wanted more than us.

 Macro Decision #2:  Buy a Modest House.

Since we didn’t have the cost of a big wedding to pay off, we were able to buy a house with a 20% down payment to start our life together.  But since we were young and still starting out, we couldn’t afford our dream house right away. Our budget limited us to choose between a single-family home in a less desirable area, or a multi-family home (townhouse, twin-home) in a really nice area.  

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

https://www.wealthwelldone.com/the-micro-and-macro-building-blocks-of-wealth/