.How Wealth and Fame Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Success

By Johnny Lops

I am sure the title of this article may have caught your attention and spurned multiple questions in your mind; “What does Dr. Lops mean that having become a CEO, or having means to buy a million dollar home does not mean I am not successful?”

Week after week, the media will report a story of a celebrity or famous athlete having been caught in a scandal. The story may pertain to an affair, an aggressive act, a divorce, or a “baby mama” looking to get appropriate access to child support.

We read these stories because we remain interested in the public lives of these individuals. But what is interesting to me is that regardless of the controversy they are confronted with, we continue to admire them for the initial talent or skill that brought that person national attention.

But the question remains: is that person truly successful?

.8 Ways To Prepare To Become A Millionaire

Written by Sam

Today I went to lunch with a very wealthy person. I don’t know exactly how wealthy , but based on his frequent trips to Maui, the fact that he earns a free plane ticket every month through his frequent flier points, and the fact that the other day he decided to go out and buy a truck just because he’s never had one before, there’s good reason to believe he’s close to a seven-digit earner.

As I talked with him, it raised a lot of questions in my mind about how managing my finances will change as my wealth grows. If I were a millionaire would I still need to budget? Would I still want to track all my spending? Would I still need to negotiate with my wife about finances?

It seems logical that with an income over $1,000,000 a year you wouldn’t need to plan as vigorously. But in the end thats a lie. Millionaires that manage their money irresponsibly can quickly lose it all and fall from grace (MC Hammer comes to mind).

.Excerpts and Tips From Dave Ramsey On Debt and Investing

Written by Sam

Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University or FPU. Committing to attending the 13 weeks of classes was one of the best financial decisions we’ve made. The course covers a broad range of topics regarding personal finances and really gives you a good 10,000 foot view of your financial situation. In this post I’ll describe how

Dave addresses many myths about debt and gives a step-by-step plan to get out of debt.

Dumping Debt

Debt Myths

Myth – Lending to a friend or relative helps them.

Truth – Instead it really changes the dynamic of the relationship and damages it.

Myth – Co-signing on a loan is ok.

Truth – Statistically the person you’re co-signing with won’t repay the loan. That’s why the bank requires someone to co-sign.

Myth – Cash advances help poor people get ahead.

Truth – Cash advances are a way for poor people to have things they can’t afford.

Myth – Lottery and power ball will make me rich.

Truth – Lottery and power ball are a tax on poor people.

.10 Secret Places Rich People Hide Their Money

Michelle L. Black Updated: Oct. 02, 2020

It's no secret that people with money like to shield their earnings from the IRS. What is often a secret, however, is how and where they do it.

No one enjoys paying taxes. So, no matter your income level, searching for new tax breaks can be a wise use of your time and energy. The ultra-wealthy, however, sometimes take steering clear of taxes to another level. Former treasury secretary Lawrence Summers, along with finance professor Natasha Sarin, recently released a research paper with some eye-opening claims. According to Summers and Sarin, the top 1 percent of taxpayers are projected to avoid more than $5 trillion in taxes between 2020 and 2029. Of course, the legal tax-reduction strategies used by rich people are worth reviewing and utilizing when possible. But it’s not a bad idea to learn about the illegal methods as well—so you can avoid them and their potential consequences.

.Why I Didn’t Have an Emergency Fund Until I Was 39

I don’t need an emergency fund. This was me for the majority of my adult life. The thought of saving up all of that money “just in case I needed it” wasn’t very appealing. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to have never found myself in need of an emergency fund. It wasn’t until I was 39, five years into my personal finance journey, that I finally convinced myself that an emergency fund was essential for me.

And I’m so glad I changed my mind. My emergency fund allowed me to easily replace an air conditioner in the middle of a humid midwest summer. And more importantly, it has given me peace of mind.

If you are anything like past Mel and struggling to motivate yourself to tackle the emergency fund goal, this article is for you. Or if you are simply curious as to why it took me so long to have an emergency fund, read on.

Here is why I didn’t have an emergency fund until I was 39 and why I changed my mind. But first, a real quick explanation of what an emergency fund is.

.10 Attributes of Wildly Successful People

Lambeth Hochwald

You know those people who seem to ace everything in life? Researchers have uncovered their secrets to success.

Secrets Of Success

We all know people who seem to be accomplished in their every pursuit. So it’s especially interesting to read a new British study that drills into the 10 attributes that make people extra good at what they do.

And they all have a few things in common. For starters, they identify and understand their strengths when pursuing a goal, says Amanda Potter, the lead researcher, founder, and managing director at Zircon Management Consulting, a business psychology company in England.

High achievers also tend to be motivated by a negative or positive life event, and they credit their success to having someone in their life who believed in them.

.How Financial Advice Triggers Painful Money Shame

BraveSaver.Com

Maybe you’ve heard: debt is bad. I have. I was raised on the conviction that debt=bad. I saw the effects of debt on family members and family friends. Dave Ramsey, the first financial figure I knew, centers his teachings on debt — and getting out of it to “financial freedom.”

I even heard about debt at church, making it a moral question. Debt was there: in bible study and Sunday school, used as a metaphor for sin — or a topic on its own.

The sum of all these messages I heard about debt was this: getting into debt was unwise, a sign of a weak will or mind. Debt was a form of bondage or slavery, and once you were in it, you were in danger of never getting out.

Fast forward to me, in 2012: 23 years old, in around $50,000 of debt — mostly student loans with a car loan and credit card debt, too.

.Money Is Everything … Until You Master It. Then It’s Nothing at All.

By Joe Freedom ·

I have been accused at times of worrying too much about money. And my retort is always the same: I don’t worry about money at all. But I do spend time carefully managing it, as I do with any other valuable resource.

The alternative of having no concern for money and devoting no time to prudently and wisely managing it seems to me to inevitably lead to financial hardship and ruin. But avoiding these adverse outcomes through concerted effort does not mean a lifetime of worry about money.

To the contrary—it means a lifetime free of worry related to money. I have a set of rules and guidelines that manage my financial behaviors, and a process for the related administrative work. I attend to money matters, I do not worry about them. There is a significant and meaningful difference.

.What Basketball Can Teach Us About Responsibility

by Jim Rohn | Mar 13, 2020 | Personal Development

During the years when professional basketball was just beginning to become popular, Bill Russell, who played center for the Boston Celtics, was one of the greatest players in the professional leagues. He was especially known for his rebounding and defensive skills, but like a lot of very tall centers, Russell was never much of a free-throw shooter.

In fact, his free-throw percentage was quite a bit below average. But this low percentage didn’t really give a clear picture of Russell’s ability as an athlete, and in one game he gave a very convincing performance.

It was the final game of a championship series between the Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. With about 12 seconds left to play, the Lakers were behind by one point and the Celtics had the ball. It was obvious that the Lakers would have to foul one of the Boston players in order to get the ball back, and they chose to foul Bill Russell.