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Saturday, January 31, 2009

Simple Age-old Maxims of Wealth

I saw the following posted by someone in CNA forums. It's quite interesting.... worth of thought...



Spending: If you buy things you don't need, you'll soon sell things you need.

Savings: Don't save what is left after spending; spend what is left after saving.

Hard work: All hard work brings profit; but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Laziness: A sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current.

Earnings: Never depend on a single source of income.

Borrowings: The borrower becomes the lender's slave.

Accounting: It's no use carrying an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.

Auditing: Beware of little expenses; a small leak can sink a large ship.

Risk-taking: Never test the depth of the river with both feet.

Investment: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.


Those who have already been practising these principles remain financially healthy.
Those who resolve to start practising these principles will quickly regain their financial health.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

5 Steps To Gain Financial Knowledge

Here are additional helpful tips written by Adam-Khoo to gain financial knowledge:

1. When hiring a person to work for you, hire one who is more knowledgeable in the position you intend to hire him/her for. This way, you will have less worry if he/she is able to perform the job. You get to learn from the person, and you’ll have more time to attend to other moneymaking ventures. Don’t think the person might be a threat to your business, as long as you pay him/her well. Otherwise, he/she need not work for you in the first place.

2. Changes, especially those that involve bargains, can spell profit. Take for example in a supermarket where there is a “sale.” People’s most likely reaction is to buy and stock up. It is normal reaction but peculiar when analyzed. In the stock market, when there is a price crash, people tend to shy away. This is contrary to what happens in the supermarket. Why?

Perhaps, we will never know. On the other hand, when prices in a supermarket go up, people shy away. Again, in the stock market, when prices go up, people start buying which shouldn’t be the case.

3. Part (or shall I say a big portion of) financial knowledge is knowing the difference between an asset and a liability.

Actually, an asset or a liability depends on the person looking at the thing. What you think is an asset, could be a liability to another person. As mentioned before, anything you own that earns is an asset; otherwise, it is a liability.

4. Oftentimes, we stick to the conventional way of doing business: “This is the way it is done here.” For all we know, the conventional way might not be the best way. Look at it another way, the unconventional way. It could save money, and money saved is money made.

5. High emotions (fear included) can sometimes suppress financial knowledge. Do not let your financial ability submit to your emotions. Overcoming emotions is, per se, part of the learning process. Similarly, making financial decisions without proper training on finances is disastrous.

Gain more financial ability is simply having more options for opportunities that come your way. In the same manner, a higher level of knowledge can help you spot opportunities other people don’t see. What you can’t see with your eyes, you might see with your mind.

Money comes and goes. But unlike money (although this is what we’re aiming for), financial knowledge stays. The nourishment it needs to stay keen is to keep it accurate and up-to-date.

If you feel like you’re being pushed around, stay smart, exercise self-discipline, and keep updated. Be alert and look out for “double standard” information (information that requires double checking). It is better to reconfirm than be sorry later.

The basics of financial knowledge should have been taught in school; but it hardly did, and it looks like it hardly will. This explains why the poor and middle class comprise the majority of the populace with its gap from the rich ever widening.

If a person winds up with a lot of cash without financial ability, this person is bound to find his/her money gone soon. We’ve heard of athletes who earned millions during their prime and movie stars who amassed untold fortunes only to grow old broke.

Having financial knowledge is truly vital to maintain and grow your wealth.