5 tips on how to get rich and prosper this year and beyond!

In today’s trying economic times, just about everyone is wondering how to get rich. After all, the rich appear to have it all – they appear happy, content and are financially secure. In essence, they don’t appear worried about their financial future or have debt collectors hounding them. They aren’t concerned about credit scores and definitely aren’t living paycheck to paycheck. If you are like most people, you too want to be rich. You want the fulfillment and the financial security that comes from being rich. Well, in this article, we’ll provide you with 5 tips on how to get rich and prosper this year and beyond. Let’s get started.

1. Develop the right mental attitude.

You must want to do it but more importantly believe that you can do it. This is true of everything in life especially achieving financial freedom. You need to develop a rich mindset and believe that money is inherently good and that you deserve to prosper. This type of attitude will attract money and allow you get rich. If you focus on the lack of the money that is exactly what you will create.

2. Get a copy of your credit report.

Most wealthy people have good credit and if you want to get rich, you have to improve your credit. This is what allows you to borrow money. Get a copy of your credit report and review it carefully- this is often available free online. If there are errors, take care of them. Don’t hide from bill collectors or obligations, they will only become a perpetual thorn in your side when it comes to getting rich.

3. Stop using credit cards.

The interest repayments are designed to keep you in debt! Instead, pay cash for your purchases and save your money. It is important to put aside some money for emergencies before you can even think about paying down your debt and investing your money in quality stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate investments, whatever.

4. Your next step is to pay down debt.

You can’t be rich if all your money is going towards paying off debt. You must commit to paying off your debt which prevents you from saving and putting money in investments. One nifty trick is to use the debt snowball method in which you apply a set amount to one bill and pay the minimum to the rest. When that debt is paid off, you then move on to the next one until you have paid all of them.

5. Become educated.

A financial education is absolutely paramount to becoming wealthy. Learn from books, CDs, DVDs, anything you can get your hands on. Start talking to millionaires and asking them how they became rich. Find a mentor to help fast track you to making money and to help keep you on track. Remember, knowledge is nothing without action. Learn the principles; get the tools and strategies and TAKE ACTION!

How much energy are you wasting thinking about becoming rich? Would this not be better spent learning about how to do it and actually doing it? Picture achieving your goals in your mind, stop using credit cards to purchase items you can’t afford, pay down debt and invest wisely. By doing this, you too can become rich and help others on their path to living the life they desire. Good luck and prosper!

Start your journey today… No more living paycheck to paycheck! Click on the link to order a free DVD or free E-Book.  

I would like to share this article I discovered on a great web site called simplesavings.com.au A fantastic site if you are looking for ways to save on expenses and start putting some savings aside.

I believe this was written by a lady called Penny Cooper

THANKS A BUNCH FOR FREE FLOWERS

My hubby gives me a beautiful bouquet of flowers every week – and it doesn’t cost him a cent!  When times get tough financially, the first things to disappear are usually life’s little luxuries.  As soon as we started living on a budget I could no longer justify buying fresh flowers to add a splash of winter cheer to our home.  So I was surprised and delighted when my husband arrived home from work a few months ago with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers! He works in a corporate building on the same floor as the reception desk. Every Monday morning there is a fresh bunch of flowers delivered to reception and as such the existing flowers are thrown out every Friday. They are still usually absolutely fine however, being only five days old and often contain lilies and other hardy blooms that last for three to five weeks.  Instead of leaving them to get thrown away, he asked at reception if he could take them home and they said no problem!

You could ask the same at any likely shop/reception area that has flowers each week.  It’s easy enough to call by and pick them up before they throw them out. While this hasn’t really saved us any money as we weren’t buying them due to their cost, it is a delight for me to be able to enjoy one of my luxury items for free.  It also allows us to be generous to our friends who are also all on budgets.  Now we have a constant supply of flowers for our own home, plus often enough to make up into bunches to give to our friends.
At least until Hubby’s colleagues catch on to what he’s doing and start asking to take them home too!

What a great idea Penny.

If you are looking for ways to save money, pay off debt and even start investing some of your saving, than you may want check out this free DVD and e-book.

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Around the house can be one of the quickest and easiest places to save money. A lot of these tips are virtually set and forget.

• Replace your shower head with a water saving shower head. This not only saves you water but can also save you a considerable amount on you energy bill by using less hot water.

• By installing energy saving light globes you can save quite a bit on your power bill and a lot of the compact fluorescent globes have a long life, up to 20 years, so they are great value.

• You can save on energy costs by setting your heater one degree cooler in winter and one degree warmer in summer.

• Set your air conditioner on a timer so it comes on a little while before you come home. This way your house will be cool when you get home, preventing you from putting it on flat out when you come home to a hot house. You can do the same with heating in winter.

• When using water only for a short time, like washing your hands, be sure to use the cold water tap. This will save water heating costs.

• In winter, make sure any windows facing the sun have the blinds open to capture as much natural heat as possible.

• In winter, draw the blinds early to prevent the heat from escaping.

• In summer, keep the blinds closed on the windows that face the sun.

• Keeping the doors closed and heating only the rooms you use most can save you a lot on your heating bill.

• Turn off any electrical appliances that have a stand by mode (that’s anything with little lights or LED displays) at the wall.

• When replacing electrical appliances, consider their energy rating.

• Lower the hot water thermostat by 5 or 10 degrees.

• Turn off the lights if you’re not using them.

You may think all of these things seam like small stuff, and they are, but together they can save you large amounts on your utility bills. Allowing you to take that saved money and put it aside to start building your personal wealth. If you would like to learn more about investing your savings to accelerate your wealth and create extra streams of income, feel free to order our FREE Wealth Creation DVD. You may be surprised at how simply it really is.

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There are many ways to save money on your groceries. I have listed some that I have found and many that I personally use to save money.

• Do NOT go food shopping when you are hungry, this will eliminate many of those impulse purchases, saving you hundreds.
• Eliminate frozen food from your shopping list. Freezing your own is much cheaper and often tastier.
• Using a shopping list and sticking to it will ensure you buy only what you need.
• Plan your shopping list carefully. Check your fridge and cupboard for what you need first.
• Shopping less often can save you a lot. Larger quantities are often better value.
• You can save up to 40% by buying generic no name brands.
• Keep an eye on the top and very bottom shelves; this is where you find the cheaper brands.
• By shopping later in the day, week and month you will find more items on special.
• Save money by check the back of super market dockets for discounts.
• Cook more than you need and freeze the rest in meal sized portions for a quick and easy lunch or dinner.
• Save money by shopping at discount food shops rather than expensive local grocers and convenience stores.
• When serving a meal, serve smaller portions of meat and larger portions of vegies, rice and pastas.

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Author: Sarah Russell

To get on the road to financial freedom, you’ve got to have a budget to help you focus on achieving your financial goals. If you’d like to own your own home someday or pay off all your credit card debt, you need to plan ahead and set aside money to make your dreams a reality. But saving money can seem impossible when you’re already reaching to pay all your bills. Fear not – it can be done! Check out some of these easy tips to help you start saving money.

Spare Change Matters

Don’t underestimate the power of the penny! If don’t think you can afford to put any extra money into a savings account, commit to saving your loose change for that purpose. At the end of each day, put all your loose coins in a jar or a cheap piggy bank. As your jar fills up, stop by a Coinstar machine and deposit the cash into your savings account.

Let Online Banking Help You

Online banking makes it easy to transfer money to your savings account. If have direct deposit for your paycheck, you should be able to set up an automatic transfer so that a portion of your money automatically goes to your savings account. If you never see the money, in your checking account, you won’t be as tempted to spend it. Most experts recommend that you automatically deposit 10% of your take-home pay, but if this is too much for you to start with, try to work up to it.

Learn the Trading Game

If you’re great with kids, why not volunteer to watch a colleague’s children in exchange for a free ride to work? Or offer to trade some of your world-famous pies for some auto repair work from a car-loving friend. Everyone have some skills – use the things you’re good at to trade for the goods and services you’d otherwise pay for.

Cut Your Utility Bills

With the explosive growth of modern technology, it seems that there’s some new gadget for every task. Using all these tools can make your life easier, but it also increases your energy bill. One night a week, wash your dishes by hand, or hang your clothes to dry on a clothesline in your laundry room. Buy a carpet sweeper or a manual lawnmower to replace their energy-guzzling alternatives. You’ll cut your energy bill and develop a new-found respect for your pioneer ancestors.

Live the High Life on a Budget

Buying a $5 coffee everyday or catching dinner and a movie every Friday night with your partner can quickly chip away at your savings. If you can’t give up your Starbucks, consider switching to plain black coffee with a bit of flavored creamer. You’ll save money as well as all those calories in your grande caramel macchiato! Learn to cook a nice dinner to serve by candlelight in your home and follow it up with your favorite old movie on the couch.

If some of these tradeoffs don’t sound like much fun, try to keep your financial goals in mind. Picture yourself moving into your new home or driving down the road in your Ferrari convertible. If you stay focused on your goals, you’ll find it much easier to stick with your budget and save more money. For more easy ways to save money, visit The Sexy Secretary – a great website with lots of tips on living the good life on a budget.
About The Author

This article was published by Sarah Russell on Smart Young Money – a collection of money management resources for teens and young adults. For great information on using credit, managing debt and more for young people, visit http://www.smartyoungmoney.com.

Author: Bruce Hokin

Can’t seem to get ahead financially? Debts piling up? Maybe you’re making some of these mistake unknowingly. These mistakes listed below will help you understand where you may be going wrong and how to get back on track quickly. You can be debt free.

Mistake 1. Living Beyond Your Means

This is the real cause of your worry and stress. If you are spending more than you are earning, whose money are you spending? It’s the credit card provider’s or the bank’s. The cost of this money is interest.

The way out – Make a Commitment to yourself only to spend within your income limits. Maybe you could increase your income (or cash in) by applying for more skilled positions, selling some of your unused articles or assets. Is the second car really a necessity? What about working out ways to make your hobby pay for itself?

Why not find ways to reduce your spending? How much would you save each year if you decided not to have the daily coffee shop coffee? Why not make your work lunch each day rather than buying it? Commit to only buying the necessities.

Mistake 2. Paying Off Less Than the Full Credit Card Balance Each Month

Get this debt under control and your life will be much easier. If you are like many others and only pay the minimum balance each month, the interest on the interest makes those purchases oh so expensive.

The way out – Find ways to put aside more money to apply to the credit cards. It will take time to reach this goal. However, if you don’t make a start now you may never pay them off. This situation did not occur overnight and neither will the solution. But, by diligence and commitment you’ll get there.

Mistake 3. Not Really Knowing Your Financial Situation

Before you can set meaningful goals and develop savings strategies you need to know your financial situation now. The best, proven and tested method by far, is by developing your own personal budget. This is not hard to do. Please don’t give up now. Just follow these simple steps:

The way out -
a) Find your latest credit card statements. Write down all the unpaid balances.
b) Are there any other unpaid debts (not home or car) then include these balances as well.
c) List out your (or family) monthly income. Only the amounts “brought home”. Include all types of income.
d) Work out your monthly spending. List out where all the money goes. Don’t leave anything out.
e) Minus the monthly spending total from the monthly income total and review the answer.

This will give you an initial idea as to whether you are living within your means or on borrowed money.

Mistake 4. Continually Adding to Your Debt

If debt has got you into this situation it is critically important not to add to the state of affairs and thus make it worse.

The way out – cut up the credit cards, keeping only 1 for emergencies. Don’t buy on impulse. Ask yourself twice or three times before you buy anything “Do I really need this?” before you hand over your hard-earned money. Don’t buy at the height of the fashion or fad. Commit to never paying full retail for anything. Get it on sale or negotiate a lower price.

Mistake 5. Spending All Your Income

It may sound OK to spend any money you earn but there are risks attached to this strategy. How are you going to pay for emergency items? What about major car repairs. What about major electrical appliance replacement? Are you going to pay for these on credit? Bad idea! How are you going to save for a substantial deposit on the next car?

The way out – Once you’ve prepared your budget you will clearly see what you need to do to put some income aside for other needs such are emergencies and repairs.

Mistake 6. Spending Without Caring About Your Future

Unless you are planning for your future and financial security, you cannot be really happy. There are always worries lurking in your mind about how you would survive in a financial emergency if you have no savings. It can be very rewarding to see how quickly your savings multiply over time with only a small investment each payday.

The way out – Take stock of your life and realize that tomorrow won’t look after itself. It needs your attention. Keep some funds aside to put away for your retirement, children’s college costs, emergencies, holidays and major purchases.

Avoid these 6 spending mistakes and you’ll be well on your way to financial freedom. Guaranteed.

About The Author

Bruce Hokin has designed a simple budget tool called “5 Steps to Freedom” Personal Budget. It based on his extensive background as a qualified, experienced accountant, manager, consultant and financial adviser. You can be on your way to financial freedom within the hour. It is available at his website http://www.freedom-personal-budgets.co