wealth building

For almost anyone, one of the biggest concerns in life is building wealth so that you and your family are comfortable and prepared for the future. This isn't always easy, and many people struggle when it comes time to decide what is the best way to build wealth.

There are so many options, the average person can become confused. The basics of going to work, and then depositing money into your savings account are pretty simple, but quite often this is not enough to build wealth to keep you going throughout your life.

There are a lot of programs out there designed to help you build wealth. You can take advantage of these, but remember that most of these programs offer you advice and nothing more. After that, you are on your own. If you really need someone to hold your hand through the process for building wealth, you might want to find a personal financial advisor that can help you on a daily or weekly basis.

Beware of the scam artist. They are out there, and when it comes to building wealth, they know what they are doing. Keep in mind however, that building wealth for your benefit is not what they have in mind. They are looking to pad their own accounts at your expense. Do you really think you can make thousands in a week by reselling real estate? It's not likely, especially if you have no experience.

Building wealth isn't as easy as listening to some guy tell you how to buy houses, it has to be something you can actually do. Not a lot of people looking to build wealth have the money for this type of scheme, nor do they have the credit to borrow it.

When you are really serious about building wealth, take some time to consider your options. Many people have gone about building wealth with wise investments. This can work for anyone, because you don't have a lot to start. You can begin with a few very small investments, and then as your money grows, you can expand to make even more.

You can also build wealth by starting your own business, or by finding something you love to do, and chasing it down with a passion that makes building wealth easy. Sometimes, building wealth might be as simple as following your dreams. The more passionate you feel about something, the more you are going to put into it.

If you are investing to build wealth you need to not just get high returns but the highest returns you can with low risk.

Wealth Building is all about balancing the risk to reward and take advantage of compound growth.

Here is a proven method to build wealth with low risk.

We all know property is a good solid long term investment, but it can be expensive and gains solid but not spectacular.

There are however many overseas property destinations that offer lower costs and much bigger profit potential all with low risk.

A good example is Costa Rica.

Just 2 hours away Americans and other foreign investors are buying and making big gains, for example:

An investor who bought a property just 15 years ago in Jaco on the pacific coast has seen it rise in value to nearly $800,000 today.

While investing in property in Costa Rica can produce great capital gains, it also gives you something more – a valuable income.

You can of course let the property out, or you can use it as a holiday home.

Buying property in Costa Rica is the perfect way to build long term wealth.

Low risk and high capital gains potential

You have better capital growth potential than most investments and downside volatility is low, allowing you to compound your money quickly.

You can also enjoy this investment if you want to as well.

Can you still make big gains in Costa Rica property?

The answer is yes.

With beach front property up to 70% less than in the US and Costa Rica just a two hour flight away, more Americans are looking at Costa Rica for second homes and retirement.

The key is buying the right location

If you are buying property in Costa Rica you need to keep an eye on new developments and infrastructure and buy near them – when they are completed of course the value of nearby property will rise.

There are plenty of specialist Realtors to help you pick the best properties in view of, your budget and investment aims.

The buying process is simple and tax efficient

The buying process is straightforward and Costa Rica encourages foreign buyers.

You get the same rights as residents and your investment is very tax efficient.

Add up the benefits

And you have a great vehicle for capital gains and at the same time get low risk.

Add in the possibility of using it for your pleasure and the opportunity to gain a valuable extra income from renting your property out and you have the perfect vehicle to pursue longer term capital gains and build wealth.

There are a number of different foundational principles that are responsible for ruling the wealth building cycle, regardless of how you build your wealth. So if you build your wealth on the stock market, or through home loans, or through a variety of other types of real estate investments, this will still apply. Many people who are new to the concept of wealth building are not disciplined enough or not informed enough to follow the principles associated with properly building wealth. The formula used to build wealth is actually extremely simple and straight forward in theory -

1 - Make more money,

2 - Spend less money,

3 - Start early,

4 - Manage all of the risks.

It may sound easy, but it isn't really that easy, is it? There is a lot that goes into these four steps, and most people have trouble dealing with one or two, let alone all four of them.

The wealth building cycle consists of three phases - Goal setting, planning and execution.

1 - Define the goals of your wealth building process, including both short term goals and long term goals.

Goal setting should begin with a number of questions. Where do you want to be, financially speaking, in five years? How about 20 years from now? What about by the time you retire? Do you plan to own half a million dollars in real estate five years from now? Are you looking to accumulate a net wealth of two million dollars within twenty years? Would you like to have five million dollars in your bank account by the time you retire? The principal of setting wealth building goals should be to challenge you while still being realistic. If your goals are set too low, you will not be motivated. If they are set too high, you will become frustrated at their unreachability.

2 - Develop a plan that will achieve the goals you have set -

We are not going to know if your goals are set too high or too low until you use a plan to justify them. Many investors believe that a million dollars in net worth is unthinkable, but it really isn't. If you want to achieve a million dollar goal, you shouldn't have to choose between eating well and sleeping well, you just have to know how to invest, and be patient.

3 - Follow your plan, and work as hard as you need to -

In wealth building, there are two common causes for failure. The first is not being committed to the plan and working hard enough, and the second is not having the necessary discipline in order to follow the plan even if you are working hard.

Once you have completed the wealth building cycle, the next cycle begins, using return on investment in conjunction with your investing and wealth building strategies. Wealth building is a simple process, and only requires a plan and some serious determination in order to get things done.

It s interesting how the word wealth have different connotations for different people. Whereas for some it s considered to be something virtuous, for others it recalls images of greed, deceit and exploitation. For some wealth is something to be avoided while for others it s something they will spend their life pursuing. The truth, however is that wealth is nothing but our natural state . The word wealth really means abundance and this abundance is the principle with which the universe functions. The secret to building wealth is merely about finding a way of tapping into the abundance that is already available.

Somewhere along the line in our cultural condition an idea crept in that we are not entitled to abundance and that having too much is a bad thing - especially when it comes to money and material wealth. There seems to be a common notion that it is much nobler to suffer in lack than to enjoy a life of abundance. Life is abundant in every way. The whole universe for that matter is by design abundant. There is more than enough of everything for everyone, but the belief that there is lack is what creates the experience of lack for so many people. If there ever was a secret to building wealth, then it is the ability to realize that what you want is already available to you.

Most people are looking for the secret to building wealth in resources outside themselves, whereas the real resources are within you. Wealth is not something you get but something that you connect to as airy-fairy as that might sound. Think about this: a radio, when switched on, do not pull radio waves from a transmitter. It simply makes audible the radio waves that are already there these waves are everywhere all the time anyway. Right now, everything you need is available to you all the money and resources in the world are available to you right now. It is merely a case of switching on and tuning in to start building wealth and prosperity in your life.

When you switch on, you become aware of the fact that it s all available to you. When you tune in, you start tapping into the prosperity and opportunity that is around you all the time anyway. Once you realize that the real resources are within you, the external resources tends to just show up not because they appear out of thin air, but for the first time you are actually noticing them.

Just think of some of the greatest products of our modern age aren t they just opportunities that were there for the taking only taken by someone who was able to see something that s always been there. When you think back at the Romans, it s not that they did not have electricity. It s just that they did not discover it. Electricity has always been there.

Another secret to building wealth that is closely related, is the simple fact that money is nothing but a measure of the exchange of value. The amount of money and wealth in your life is a direct reflection of the value that you add to life (as a whole). To build more wealth in your life, you simply have to find a way to add more value. This is not hard at all. Why? Well, you are unique in so many different ways and you can do certain things that no one else can do. Find a way to use your unique talents to serve your fellow man and wealth and abundance will be yours.

The secret to building wealth is to build yourself. For things to get better, you have to get better. Wealth is not so much something you create as it is something that you connect to. You have it within you to create all the wealth and prosperity that you can imagine. Connect to this wealth that is already available to you.

Wealth building is a term that is used today to describe any means or avenue to either invest your money or make financial growth. There are many resources available such as Loral Langemeier and many others who are helping people to learn how to build wealth. Building wealth is important in today’s world because times have changed.

In the past, several decades ago, our fathers and grandfathers were offered nice retirement packages and pension plans. This happened during a different era and things were not the same as they are today. Today each of us is basically responsible for our own retirement wealth and for those who don’t make money, life will be very hard and difficult simply based on the fact that the cost of living is so high in this day in age that you need allot of money to secure a financial future.

During the 2008, 2009, 2010 the real estate housing market will be a little tricky. Due to the amount of foreclosures that are happening and will continue to occur, the wealth building aspect of buying and selling real estate will take an interesting turn. For example, with so many properties in the market, their will be less buyers for the sellers so deals on properties will be very competitive and therefore many houses and properties will sell for less money than they would have several years ago.

Wealth building is important for your own future and you can begin now in 2008, 2009 and 2010 to look at all the possible deals available and determine which ones you can make profit on. Look at the sales cost of a house or property and try and buy for even less than you normally would. You will be able to do this because of all the excess properties that will be on the real estate housing market.

Investing in the stock market can be extremely profitable and in fact many people are building their wealth with stock trading to an extent that they have been able to resign from their jobs and earn a full time income through trading.

If you have ever thought about trading on the stock market then don’t keep putting it off as the time you are putting it off is time that you could be earning money. The earlier that you start trading in shares the more money you will make with it.

If you don’t have enough money to invest but it is something that you have wanted to do for a long time then set yourself a goal to start saving some money that you can use for investment. You don’t have to start with a huge amount to invest you can start small and when you make a profit reinvest that profit and gradually build your wealth.

For someone new to investing in the share market you will learn as you go so don’t be too concerned that you don’t know enough about investing. As an investor you will need stockbroker and your stockbroker will be there to help you understand the different strategies involved with stock trading.

You can start off investing in some low risk stocks that you know will grow and if you leave your money invested there for a few months you will see a reasonable return. You can then sell that stock and use the money to invest in more stock. Your wealth will start accumulating in no time as you continue to buy and sell stock and make profit.

It is wise to do your homework when investing in the share market and keep an eye on what your shares are doing. Although this may seem a bit daunting at first the longer you do it the easier it is. Soon watching the share market will be second nature to you and you will just need to glance at the stock market pages and have an idea of what is a good investment and what isn’t.

As with anything, practice makes perfect and investing in the stock market is something that everyone can do if they just do a little research and get to know the market.

Just remember when you can see your wealth building, don’t get too excited and go out and spend it all. You want to always put aside a certain percentage of your profits to reinvest and keep building your wealth to ensure yourself a good financial future. In order to "build wealth" you must not needlessly waste wealth. Save for a "rainy day" and invest wisely.

I personally started with just $10,000 and have built this into a great six figure sum in less than 10 years. Remember, I had to live off some of this capital as well in the early days. Compounding rates of returns are a massive wealth builder. It takes time and persistence.

Sometimes it seems like the world is divided into two types of people, those who have money and those who work for them.

Have you ever wondered what the rich have that you don't? Are they smarter? Luckier? Do they work harder?

The answer is that they work less but their money works harder. In fact the truly wealthy have automatic wealth building systems in place.

But having a wealth building system isn't all that seperates them from the rest of us. What sets them apart and helps them attract wealth day in and day out is their wealth mindset.

They truly believe that they deserve to be wealthy and they are confident in their knowledge that there is an abundance of wealth just waiting to be tapped into at a moment's notice.

The good news is that this way of thinking is a learned behavior. This means that you can learn it, as well.

You see, over the years we build up ideas about money, wealth, work and a variety of other factors in our lives. Some of these beliefs are acquired from our parents and others from our own experiences.

Why Lottery Winners Lose it All

You have heard it time and again. Lottery Winners losing it all and trust fund babies wasting their parents' hard earned cash. In fact, up to 80% of the lottery winners in this country file bankruptcy within five years. Most of us say," That would never happen to me. You would have to be really dumb to lose all that money." Yet the very reason that these individuals let their money run through their fingers is the very reason that most of us are still working pay check to paycheck.

It is a lacking mindset that is responsible for our financial difficulties. Those with money that work their way up from the bottom or build the wealth they have easily, have the one thing that most of us lack - a million dollar mind set. All wealth begins with it and all wealth is maintained by cultivating this feeling of prosperity.

I would bet that most of us could compile a list of hundreds of things that we want. That sense of wanting means that we feel that we do not have these things. When we replace this wanting feeling with the sense of already having wealth, amazing things start to occur within our brains. We begin to come up with ways of having wealth instead of merely wishing and wanting it.

How do we create this million dollar mindset?

1) Think about being wealthy and write down any thoughts that come up.

Write down the objections that already play in your mind. Write down the excuses like. Ex. It takes money to make money. And write down all the things that you wish you could have if only...

2) Release on those thoughts. Let them go and keep letting them go until the negative emotions go away with them.

3) Replace negative thoughts with positive ones.

4) Fill your mind with the images of what you want and picture yourself already having them.

5) See yourself as you will be. Feel what you will feel. Add audio and even the things that you will smell when you reach that state. ex. the type of perfume you might wear, the sound of bankers begging to give you loans, the feel of silk upon your skin, etc...

6) Keep releasing your negative emotions and thoughts until you have what you have been wanting all these years.

7) Act upon the incredible ideas that your subconscious shares with you fearlessly.

Once that limiting belief grabs hold, it affects every action you take and every action that you hesitate to take. So the second half of the answer is that you need to let these limiting wealth beliefs go and replace them with positive abundant beliefs.

You need to truly understand that money is meant to work for you and not the other way around.

Overcoming negative thought patterns is not as difficult as it may seem. The way to step away from paychecks and into the realm of the wealthy starts with examining your thinking so that you can understand why you have made the choices about money that you have made in the past and change those choices in the future.

Wealth building is an art that requires a certain degree of skill. Many
people have the wealth but they don’t know how to manage it. There are
lots of people on the other hand who are still looking for answers for
wealth formation and wealth building. Everyone wishes to master the
trick to financial wisdom and financial freedom. We all aspire for
financial independence and self sufficiency. Infact every parent tries to
teach the child that there is a method to self sufficiency outside a
regular job wherein you forge a chain of liabilities for you. But do we
really know the tricks to succeed?

Here are several tips for you to reach that high.

1. Be debt free

The first strategy adopted by any wealth dreamer has been this. Avoid
debt of any kind. Getting into a debt can give you sleepless nights and
therefore avoid it. Remember, debt is bondage, a pain in the neck and a
disease. Try wiping it off as fast as possible incase you have already
forged one. There was a guy who wanted to become rich and took loans
thinking that he would strike a goldmine a day and pay them back.
Ultimately he proved insolvent and then realized his mistake. You can’t afford
to repeat his mistake.

2. Save money regularly
Do not indulge in over spending. You must save money on a daily basis
and not be tempted to hang out in up-markets or cafeterias. This option
can prove handy in your journey to successful wealth building. The more
you save the smarter the investment options at hand you have. So,
develop this habit.

3. Make your hobby commercial
Everybody has a hobby. Some take to art, painting, collecting stamps
etc, while some prefer writing and other arts. These hobbies tend to end
when you reach your job age and are mingled up with tensions. But,
after your job, in the free time you can look back to these hobbies as
income generators for you. You can make these hobbies commercial. A good
writer can join as a freelancer and earn extra income. One can also work
form home on various online projects etc. These are important avenues
that can tap wealth for you.

4. Look for other opportunities
The advent of the internet has made it possible to earn several high
commissions and money through advertisements and blogs, apart from
work-from-home based part time jobs that don’t require much time. You can
take active part in income generation from these untapped sources. Thus
several racy wealth building strategies can be obtained from the virtual
world.

5. Create a portfolio
You have earned the money but you don’t know the art of wealth
management. You can save the commission of a wealth manager or a planner by
building a portfolio all by yourself. A portfolio can have real estate,
stocks, shares, bonds, IPO’s, mutual funds and many more things that are
available in the market. You also need to look at them time and again
and remove the bad investments and calculate your strategies. You can
also actively engage yourself in trading stocks online.

6. Learn from mistakes
You can learn from mistakes. The mistakes may be of your own like
creating an unbalanced portfolio, investing without prior knowledge, hurried
investments, etc., can also be several lessons learnt from your parents
and their current financial positions.

Building your own personal wealth team is perhaps the most important step you can take to creating massive amounts of wealth. Why? Quite simply, it's a matter of leverage. At ProVision, we are fond of saying that the three most expensive words in the English language are, "do it yourself." When we try to do things all by ourselves, we are ignoring the fact that we all have only 24 hours in the day. By building a wealth team, we are leveraging those hours into hundreds or even thousands of hours each day.

Imagine, for example, a man like Bill Marriott. Suppose he told himself when he went into the hotel business that he was going to manage his hotel all by himself. If that were the case, rather than building the mammoth chain of Marriott hotels, he would likely have a small bed and breakfast. Instead, he built a team of thousands to locate, build and manage hotels around the world. He used his wealth team to leverage his time.

But that's not all he leveraged. Don't imagine for a minute that Bill only leveraged his employees' time. He also leveraged their intellectual capital. He knew from the start that if he were going to build a hospitality empire, he would need ideas from all of his employees, advisors, vendors and other team members in order to be successful.

You can do the same. There was a time when Bill Marriott's father, J. Willard Marriott, only had a single store. He didn't start out with a large team or lots of money. But he understood the value of other people's time, knowledge and wisdom, as well as his own intellectual capital. He used these to begin and empire that his son, Bill, has taken to a level that perhaps even J. Willard never conceived.

How do you get started? As I suggest in my coaching, begin with a mentor. A mentor is a teacher. Someone with ideas that you like and who you feel you can follow to financial freedom. It doesn't have to be anyone you know personally. It can be a well-known financial guru or a lesser-known financial professional whose ideas strike a cord with you. This mentor will be a critical part of your financial team.

The next person you need is a strategic wealth coach. This is clearly the most important member of your team. A wealth coach brings everything together. They hold you accountable for your activities and provide quality advice about how you should proceed. Your wealth coach should be a financial professional and preferably a certified public accountant or have similar credentials and experience.

Your wealth coach should be your primary source for many of your team members. They should be able to recommend several of the members personally or they should help you learn how to find and interview team members. Team members will include such individuals as attorneys, financial advisors, tax strategists, bankers and insurance agents. If you are in business, of course your team will be much larger and will include all of your employees, contractors, vendors and customers.

Can you imagine how powerful your wealth creation machine becomes when you have all of these team members working towards your success? There is no way you can be as successful on your own as you will be with all of these talented people helping you. So go out and begin creating your own wealth team today, beginning with a mentor and a coach.

Warmest Regards,

Tom

Most people search for the ultimate wealth building system for most of their lives. It may surprise you to know that you own half of it the day you are born.

What half do you own? It s your ability to make money. No matter what your education level or skill level, you have income earning power. Want to hear the good news about that and how it connects you to the ultimate wealth building system?

It s not how much you make; it s what you do with it that determines your financial condition.

The second half of the ultimate wealth building system is what you do with the money that you earn. There is a system to controlling the flow of money to create wealth. Very rich people know this system. It works whether you are an employee who works for someone else and you are using the system to control the flow of your personal income, or if you are a business owner using the system to control the flow of the company s income. It is an amazingly simple system.

1) SPEND LESS THAN YOU MAKE - Cut your expenses back to operate within your income.

2) PUT 10% OF YOUR INCOME AWAY IN SAVINGS and don t ever spend it. Set aside regular amounts of cash from your income for the future always pay yourself first and put the money in savings toward gaining financial freedom. The ultimate wealth building system requires a minimum of 10% of income into savings out of every dime you earn. Just sock it away and forget you even have it. As it builds up, move it to places that earn better interest than the bank savings accounts. This includes buying houses and commercial buildings you can rent out to make more money.

3) DO NOT BUY ON CREDIT pay cash instead. Debt is a disease that you should avoid contracting. Figure out what you want to buy and put money away towards the purchase every week until you have the cash. For large purchases like cars, furniture and equipment, buy used instead of brand new. Remember, those items lose value from the moment you buy them.

4) FIND WAYS TO MAKE MORE MONEY the personal cost of living goes up about 3.5% every year, so you need to make more money just to keep up. If you work for someone else, increase your value to the company by taking on more responsibility and learning to do more; then ask for a raise. Be willing to work a second job if you have to in order to get out of debt and start putting money away.

If you own a business, look over your line of products and services and figure out how to sell more of the profitable items. Be willing to discontinue items that are not bringing in enough profit for the time, effort and cost to sell them. The secret to making more money is pretty simple if you put your attention on it.

5) USE YOUR MONEY TO INCREASE YOUR INCOME After paying your ultimate wealth building system the 10% into savings and paying your bills, use any money left over in ways that increase your ability to produce more income.

Why is controlling the flow of money so important? It is the energy and life blood of a business or household. It is necessary to pump it through the income producing areas first to keep it running well. Everything runs smoother when cash is available.

Seems simple, right? And it is simple. The ultimate wealth building system is easily learned, and can be used to gain your financial freedom. It does, however, take personal discipline and commitment to achieve the goal of financial independence so you never have to worry about money again.

The really great news is that you have control over this system. Done correctly and consistently, the end result is always having lots of cash on hand, all bills paid, and plenty of money in reserves to finance what you really want to do with your money; not just pay bills. How well you control the flow of your money will determine how well your company or family will survive now and into the future. Correctly applying these five steps will make this wealth building system work for you.

Webster s Definition of Wealth: abundance of valuable material possessions or resources, abundant supply, all property that has a money value or exchangeable value, overflowing stock of useful goods having economic value at any one time.

The word wealth originated from the old English word weal , which means well-being or welfare .
Wealth is basically defined as one having an abundance of goods and resources or the ability to possess any type of goods or resources in abundance with the exchange of money. Another portion of the definition of wealth is possessing real estate or personal property with an exchangeable value. Wealth can also be defined as a state of well-being or good health .

In modern society, we have an increasing number of avenues to obtain wealth. Society must simply gain the knowledge and skills necessary to implement the proper strategies and techniques.

Strategies/Techniques/Methods:

-INHERIT WEALTH

-MARRY WEALTH

-TAKE WEALTH

-WIN WEALTH

-STRATEGIZE FOR WEALTH

STRATEGIES FOR WEALTH:

One strategy is called triple compounding , suggested by Steve Sjuggerud. Sjuggerud is the writer of investment letter True Wealth . He unfolds, Your account can grow at rapid speeds for three reasons: First, you are adding to your account every month. Second, if you invest in growth mutual funds, your account s NAV (net asset value) is likely to increase overtime. Third, all dividends and distributions are automatically reinvested .

One of the least practiced techniques for building wealth is to set aside money in separate accounts. Regardless of income, budget and stash away at least 10% of your income each pay period and do not touch funds under any circumstances. Many individuals get a set amount taken out of their income before they see their paychecks (in addition to 401k). A number of self employed individuals with various pay periods take a portion of their income and place it in separate accounts. After saving a nice sum of cash, do your research and let your money work for you by diversifying and placing cash in different investment vehicles.

A few other strategies to build wealth in modern society is to invest in online global marketing, real estate, land, construction, funeral homes, medical practices, retail and service sector businesses.

IMPORTANT NOTE: MAKE A DECISION TO LIVE BELOW YOUR LIVING EXPENSES

Building wealth is actually really simple if you have the right tactics in your arsenal. You do not need to have an amazing amount of riches if you want to accumulate wealth. What does matter is that you have the determination, the drive, and the discipline that is required in order to successfully raise your wealth. Here are a small handful of tried and true wealth building strategies that you can begin to put to use as early as today.

- Make sure that you are paid first - If you do not begin to set money side before you begin to pay your bills, you will probably never be able to save any money after the bills are paid. If your employer has a savings plan like a 403(b) or a 401(k), you should enroll and set up a reasonable amount of money to invest. This money will come out of your check before you ever even see it, which means the loss of money will be even less noticeable. Maximize your contribution amount if you can, especially if your employer is the type to match it.

- Start Saving Now - The earlier in your life that you begin to save money for investing and retiring later, the more money you will have much later in life. Of course, if you are unable to save much money until long after your children have grown, you might be able to step your savings amount up until the point where you retire, building a nice nest egg up in the process.

- Eliminate your Debt - Even before you begin to build up your savings, it would be ideal for you to eliminate any debt that you may have. If your credit card rate is large, like 14 percent for example, you are going to find it harder to find investments that offer a return exceeding that rate. It would be much preferable for you to pay your debt down first, before implementing an investment strategy of any sort.

- Create an emergency fund - There is nothing in this world that destroys a best laid plan in the way that an emergency does, especially those emergencies that are quite costly. You should set aside as much as six months worth of income, so that you can live on this should catastrophe ever hit. Without possessing an emergency fund, you will be tempted to take on a great deal of debt, cashing in your retirement account, or even selling valuable investments. You shouldn't try to recover from a hit to your wealth like this without having a back up plan in place.

- Protect your Assets - If you are not properly insured, a healthy portfolio can quickly disappear. Make sure that all of your insurance coverage is powerful enough to meet your individual needs, because a single legal judgment can really wreck havoc on your assets. Protecting your assets is just as vital to your success as acquiring them.

When most economists talk about building wealth, most people think about having enough money to go on luxurious vacations, buying a big house, and dressing in the latest fashions. These people think about enjoying a gourmet breakfast at 11am, served on Irish linen table cloth, and complete with Maine hand churned butter.

Until they receive a rude awakening in the form of a brutal reality check. This reality check comes in the form of an illness that drains the family s savings, a job loss from downsizing, or a disaster like identity theft.

At this moment, people realize that wealth is the money accumulated to protect you from poverty that is all. More people are learning that they cannot rely on a corporation for their job security and financial stability. They need alternative streams of income, and viable methods of supplementing their income.

Assets

Wealth does not come from the accumulation of cash, but from the accumulation of assets. Most people do not understand the difference between income and wealth. A large salary does not mean that you are wealthy. Living in a huge home, with a huge mortgage, does not mean that you are living the good life.

Real wealth is a combination of saving, budgeting, reducing debt, investing, and setting financial goals.

The first thing you need to do is calculate your net worth. Subtract your liabilities, like your debts, and you have your wealth. Most people can become extremely wealthy just by paying off their debts, especially their mortgage.

There are thousands of people struggling to earn more money, while their mortgage hemorrhages their wealth on a monthly basis. If the value of your home is $200 000, and you owe $100 000, then your wealth is $100 000. However, if you pay off your mortgage, your wealth increases by $100 000, and, the interest you d pay every year between the pay off date and the original termination date. Paying off a mortgage ten years early, can save many homeowners $20 - $50 000, much more than they would ever make with the average stock portfolio, or operating a home based business over the same period of time.

Free Money

Most people do not want free money. They do not take advantage of perks like tax deductions for people who operate a home based business. They ignore their 401(k) or 403(b) retirement funds. They leave money in their bank account instead of investing it, or even putting it in a savings account.

Spend Smart

Two households can earn the same income, live in the same sub division, and enjoy the same standard of living. However, one family can do it for $2 000 - $5 000 less than the other family. The number one enemy of wealth is therapy shopping, or shopping as a form of entertainment.

This also goes for people who operate a business. Recently a woman told me she invested $10 000 in her business buying things she believed she needed, all because she landed a $125 000 account. Unfortunately, every dollar she spent reduced her long-term wealth by $2 - $3.

If you spend $1 today that should have been invested, then over twenty years, the interest and profit could have been compounded 2, 5, 10, 100, or more times.

That means, the $10 000 this woman spent for fun at 30 years old, may have ultimately earned her $30 000 and even $100 000 before she retired. That is an expensive shopping spree.

Reduce Debt

On the same platform, every dollar in debt drains your wealth by the amount of interest paid yearly. If you borrow $1, do not consider it as $1. Instead, think of it as $2.50 that will have been paid capital and interest in five years.

You do not pay sticker price for a vehicle at $30 000. Instead, you pay $45 000, the price of the vehicle, plus the interest paid.

Mindset

All of these things are part of a mindset that enables people to think in terms of building wealth. The good news is, you can also develop that mindset.

One of the main things that will hold a person back from making money is their failure to change
what they are currently doing. The status quo can be deadly to wealth building efforts. Wealth
building takes courage and a new way thinking. Holding on to the this is how we have always
done it way of thinking can be death to any wealth building strategy. If you want to increase
income then think outside of the box. Do not do what your parents did - unless they are multi-
millionaires. Even if they are, take their wealth building strategy and build on it, improve it,
incorporate you own wealth building techniques into their plan to create a better way of making
money. The world has consistently improved over the decades because someone had a bright
idea of how to make a better mousetrap. It is the same with making money.

Millionaire parents are the minority, though, so this wealth building information is geared toward
the guy who grew up middle class or even dirt poor but is interested in making money and
improving his lifestyle. Though making money is a goal that is desired by many, quite often,
viable wealth building techniques elude them. The main reasons that people fail to take
aggressive steps towards their own wealth building are because of two things: 1. it takes work,
and 2. it takes courage. You have to be willing to work for what you want and take risks to get
there. Making money is no different.

The first wealth building strategy here is that you should be ready and willing to work. Now,
understand that under work falls several sub categories including increase self discipline, avoid
procrastination and be consistent. There is no easy ride when it comes to making money. Sure,
there may be the occasional windfall here or there, but creating a wealth building strategy that
you can count on and that consistently brings cash in takes hard work and focus. Self discipline
will help tremendously in keeping you focused. Keep your eye on the prize and push yourself to
work, to do what needs to be done regardless of how motivated you feel on any given day. This
is also how you avoid procrastination. If something needs to be done, just suck it up and do it. If
it is a large task that makes you feel overwhelmed, get organized. Organization is a wealth
building strategy that will prove invaluable if you use it correctly. Finally, be consistent.
Consistently keep your files organized and up to date, keep your records current, and be
consistent with your discipline and focus.

As far as courage goes when it comes to wealth building, many people tend to be like the
cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz. They talk a good game, growl a lot, but the first time
someone says boo to them they run and hide. And you know what? That is perfectly natural.
It is normal to be afraid of the unknown, of venturing into areas unfamiliar. What is not normal
is when those fears control and cripple us. Wealth building takes courage because it usually
means stepping outside of your comfort zone. Many people lack the self esteem to do this. They
are afraid of failure, they simply think that they are not good enough or smart enough. They are
wrong. Most people have the wealth building abilities in them, but those abilities are untapped
or their existence is not even known. Fear of failure can stop a great wealth building strategy
dead in its tracks. Someone once said, Can t never could. They were so right. If you believe
that you will fail then you are quite likely to do just that. Having a positive frame of mind,
whether you believe in your ultimate success or not, is integral to increasing income. If you
never take the plunge how will you ever know what is possible, what is out there? Believing in
yourself is the first step.

Venturing into unchartered waters can be scary, but moving away from the status quo can be the
wealth building strategy that catapults you to financial freedom. Some people grow up in
environments that are not conducive to success and wealth building. To take that situation and
turn it into something positive, to rise above the adversity to achieve wealth building success,
those are the true heroes. Adopt a can do attitude; be willing to jump in with both feet and at
least try new ideas and wealth building strategies. Just believe in yourself, do your homework
and get ready to work.