The Secret Life of Money

This article deals with home truths I have learned whilst creating my livelihood. They are handy hints at altering your ideas about money - I have found them to be very handy in unlocking the true potential of that lucrative loot - money.

Golden Dragons breath that fire...

How is it that some seem to have plenty of money, can afford everything they want and seem never to toil? Why do some struggle daily with the mortgage, bills, expenses never getting ahead? It's because they have never embraced what the Chinese call, "the Golden Dragon," inside. The Golden Dragons are those who find making money easy - they are everywhere but they usually don't display any signs of wealth - they just attract great investments - reducing their toil and always are on top of that game of monopoly, money, we have to deal with every single day.

These, "Dragons," are those who have one thing only setting them apart - a different attitude to money The Golden Dragons view money as a tool and investment and savings - as the outcome. A chef never runs around boasting about how much equipment ( read money ) they have. No, the chef will boast about their most lavish, successful and enticing banquet they once laid ( read investments ).

Secret One - change your view of money and it will change you for the best. Think outcome not equipment. Think of how money can be wisely invested, not grabbed.

The Root of Wealth is Savings

Now...a raw instinct for me. "But I have c/c debts, a mortgage etc, etc..." I hear you cant. Well, start developing your savings instinct. Make it a life and death situation! Start by:

- putting away, in a far away account with high interest, just 1% of your earnings until you are are practiced in saving something each cheque.

- Make savings a naked instinct. Make saving your first action when you get some money.

- Practice this until you find that almost straight away you are saving 10%, 20% and more - you have to develop a strong savings habit.

Secret Two - Develop a raw, animal instinct to save. Don't touch what you are saving. If you must spend it spend it on another investment only, not a leisure holiday.

I'm a magnet to money!

When I hear that line I cringe. It's like a mechanic saying, "I'm a magnet to a wheel." Useless. Instead say secretly to yourself, "I am a magnet to active investments and strong savings." Investments and savings are the positive results from money - money is simply a dumb tool.

Secret Three - Become a magnet to investments and savings, not money.

I spend everything I get - I need more!

Everyone confuses income with living. They see income as absolute and that they need to get more income. Actually, they need less! The devil bites people striving for more income by raising their expenses. So, consequently they never have enough.

With this secret what you need to do is reduce income or at least reduce income that you have to toil to get. Increase the type of income that you get, "when you sleep." 

Some types of income you get when you are asleep:

~ Earnings from dividends and stock

~ Pay from content writing on the Web in sites like Bukisa and Triond and income from ebay - it's money on autopilot.

~ Auto-income is simply investment and savings income.

Secret Four - Reduce toil income and increase automatic income

A tale of two workers 

Two men work for an IT firm, both are under a casual agreement, supposedly flexible hours yet they both work forty hour weeks. The hourly rate is $100 and the weekly pay is $4000.

One day, one of the men realises, "Hang on here - I'm working as if I have benefits, holidays etc, but I just get paid for what I do; nothing more." If I reduce my hours I will be earning the same hourly rate but instead I will get $3000 per week at 30hours - plus with those ten hours that I am not working I can improve my family life.

Which man is richer? The man working forty hours or the man changing to thirty hours? The man who works less. Why? He is getting better value for his effort.

It works like this:

- One man earns $100 per hour ( the hourly rate ) divided by forty ( the time he toils ). His return for effort is $25.

- The other man works at $100 per hour ( the hourly rate ) divided by thirty ( the time he toils ). The return for his effort is higher at $33 so he has a higher value on his work.

The man who works longer gets relatively less return on his hourly rate. The man who works shorter hours wins relatively higher return on his income. This is the difference between relative and absolute income. Plus, the man who cuts back his hours is less stressed - he's getting better value from his work and his firm is getting a higher productivity from the relaxed worker.

Secret Five - Totally change your perceptions about income getting better value for it.

Take care of the pennies...

It's a ancient word of advice but hell, it works. Put ever coin into a jar - hold them and just spend the paper notes. The jar fills with coins and this is like your little mini-bank. Keep them until you get too many then save those. This is a very fast easy way to save and it works. Now, I save also the five dollar notes and all coins; spending only paper.

Secret Six - Save the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.

Ram it onto auto-pilot

This is a great one that I use from John Burnley Jnr. It's the automatic money system, for each paycheque, and it goes like so:

- Save and Invest ( First Instinct ) 10%

- Expense ( Bill ) 10%

- Give ( Charity ) 10%

- Expense ( Bill ) 10%

- Splurge ( More investing, saving or just enjoying ). The remainder.

It makes an acronym S.E.G.E.S - if that's any help. The nut of it though is - that you have a developed a flame-proof habit and an automatic habit - for accruing wealth.

Secret Seven - Develop an automatic money system

Give till you go blue in the face!

Contrary to popular belief, the rich are very generous. At the end of the week, what's the whole point of all this greed? It just drains you and is burdensome. Give freely, at least 10% and more if you can using that money for the collective good. It is powerful indeed. All benefit - you diminish greed, recipients are rewarded and the whole world wins.

Secret Eight - Give, Give, Give

Well, that's about it. There are other tips around but these secrets really work for me. I never struggle with that dastardly lucre again.

Happy Giving!