Successful People Don't Quit

Successful people don't quit.

"Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving.
They make mistakes, but they don't quit."

Conrad Hilton, Founder, Hilton Hotels

How to Win Friends and Influence People - Salient Points

How to Win Friends and Influence People - Salient Points

Following are my notes from when I read, “How to Win Friends & Influence People,” by Dale Carnegie

The book applies to all types of situations, and can be used by many to navigate your way through life. Life situations like when you are ready to call your credit card company and negotiate a lower interest rate.

Fundamental Techniques in Handling People: Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.Give honest & sincere appreciation.Arouse in the other person an eager want.
Six Ways to Make People Like You: Become genuinely interested in other people.Smile.Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.
How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking: The only way to get the best of an argument6 is to avoid it.Show respects for the other person’s opinions – Never say “you’re wrong.”If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.Begin in a friendly way.Get the other person saying “yes, yes” immediately.Let the other person do a great deal of talking.Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view.Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desire.Appeal to the nobler motives.Dramatize your idea.Throw down a challenge.
Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment – A Leader’s job often includes changing his or her people’s attitudes and behavior. Some suggestions to accomplish this: Begin with praise and honest appreciation.Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly.Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.Let the other person save face.Praise the slightest improvement. Be “hearty in your appreciation and lavish in your praise.”Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.
May 10, 2007

3 More Ways to Reduce Your Debit

Tips 5, 6 & 7 to reduce your debit. (According to author and columnist, Gail Vaz-Oxlade)

Previously it was suggested that you may want to ..... redirect those payments (payments made to college loans for your children) towards eliminating your own debit sooner. Put together a 20 month plan, cut all spending that is NOT critical. Don't forget to set small reachable goals and reward yourself in some way. Let's face it, we all need to have some fun.

Tip #5 Chip Away At Your Debit - To reduce debt, make a list of every single debt that you have and rank them in order of the highest interest rate, not the highest balance. Pay off the highest interest rate card first. Every time you have extra money, throw it at the debt you've targeted until it's gone and then stop using that card! Pay only the minimums on the other debit. Making a checklist and crossing out the debt, you'll feel better as you start to see it disappear. When your debt is paid off, take the money you were allocating for debt repayment and put it towards savings.

Tip #6 Keep Things In Perspective - Getting out of debt isn't easy, but you have to remember that you cannot let debt consume you and hurt your relationship. You and your partner need to work through the debt together, making sacrifices but focusing on what's important as well - your family and your relationship. Make time to do something special with your spouse so you can remember why you fell in love, set time aside to do group activities as a family to involve the kids as well. Don't let your debt get the best of you.

Tip #7. Getting Out of Debit Does NOT Mean You May Never Spend Again - When working your way out of debt you can still spend on things that are important to you, you just need to plan and save for them. For example, if you really love to travel, don't cancel your trip for the year, figure out a way to do it on a tighter budget and save a little each month for it so you don't have to put it on credit cards.

Get Out of Debit Quickly - A Step By Step Process

Get Out of Debit Faster With a Step By Step Plan - Do you think following any of the steps below will make you uncomfortable? GOOD. It should. Get over it. Get through it and begin to enjoy life for the first time in a very long time. Consider the alternative. You get paid on Friday and by Wednesday its all gone and there's a heap of bills to pay, and you still need to feed the kids and pay for transportation to work. You do this week after week, year after year, decade after decade. It makes you feel extremely uncomfortable, and causes extreme stress on your family and relationships.

1.) Cut your credit card and establish budget:
a.) Cut them, burn them, melt them, lock them up in a safe deposit box.
b.) Live on a cash bases.
c.) Keep a daily log of everything you spend money on.
1.) Categorize expense benchmarks to the following percentages:
a.) 10% Savings
b.) 15% Transportation
c.) 15% Debit
e.) 25% Life
f.) 35% Housing

2.) Reduce your interest rates:
a.) Call each of your credit card companies.
b.) Negotiate lower interest rates.
c.) If the first employee says "no," ask to speak with the supervisor, or a persons with the authority to change your rate.

3.) Bring more cash into the house:
a.) Feed and walk a neighbors dog
b.) Baby-sit
c.) Offer to paint someone's the inside of someone's garage or seal cinder block basement walls, shovel snow, tooter, take surveys, etc. Please comment with more ideas to make extra money.

4.) Prioritize your life. Ask your self some tough questions. Are you spending much of your money on college student loans for the children? How long do they have to pay that loan off? How long do you have to live? Have they searched high and low for every available scholarship? Have they applied for as many as possible? Are you trying to pay off their loans, while your credit drops lower and lower, and your debit gets larger and larger? "Tough Luv" may dictate that you discontinue (possibly for 1 to 2 years) paying on their loans, and redirect those payments towards eliminating your own debit sooner. Put together a 20 month plan, cut all spending that is NOT critical. Don't forget to set small reachable goals and reward yourself in some way. Let's face it, we all need to have some fun.

It Takes Two - Money and Marriage

It Takes Two:

90 percent of marriage break-ups are because of money, or the lack thereof. Couples more than ever are stressed because of money. More are closer than ever to bankruptcy. One catastrophic event, illness, surgery, appliance or auto breakdown, and it's curtains.

Many times only one of the partners pays attention to the finances, and makes sacrifices and spending cuts, to accommodate the absence of attention by the other. The other partner is a party planer, meaning they plan the party, they plan for the vacation, and they plan to save money by spending, and spending, and more spending. But all that does is nullify and undermine the positive affects of the other partner. The planning for the party and the finances are important, and both partners must share in the planning.

BIG #1: Both partners MUST participate in the financial plan for the family - PERIOD. Without commitment and involvement from both partners, any plan, every plan, will fail, regardless of how much more money the partner thinks they can make.

Live Simply Today, Prosper Tomorrow

Last three Ways to Secure a Good Financial Future:

Diversify – Successful investors minimize their risks by diversifying their portfolios with a mixture of stocks, bonds, real estate, and cash.

Live Simply Today, Prosper Tomorrow - While it’s not fun, it may be the only way to fund your long-term goals – collage, vacation home, early retirement.

Create a Better World – Your own financial security depends on the physical and spiritual well being of others. Give generously of your time, talent and money.

Christina Aguilera Dings in the Holidays

Christina Aguilera Dings in the Holidays

Celebrity Pics

3 More Keys to Financial Security

3. Borrow Sparingly – Used credit on things of lasting value, pay cash for everything else. Do you know anyone who got in big financial trouble because they didn’t borrow enough money? I don’t think so, says Kiplinger.

4. Pay Yourself First – Next time you sit down to write bills, reverse the process and write the first check to your investment account, continue writing your regular monthly bills, and finish up with the credit card bill. If you have trouble paying that last bill, start trimming your discretionary spending (movies, clubbing, restaurants, etc).

5. Don’t Swing For Home Runs – In investing, like in baseball, those who swing for the fence occasionally hit the home run. But they strike out a lot too. Be patient, and shy away from the risky stuff, and don’t try to time the market. Invest regularly in solid companies.

For business loans take action now!!

Use Debit Credit Card as "Credit Card"

For many people, the holiday season brings with it plenty of debt - 12 million people nationwide have still not paid for their credit card purchases from last year.

But experts said Monday that paying as you go with a debit card may not be the best answer, reported by 10TV.

This year, more people said they are using their debit cards to avoid running up credit card debt.

You may use your debit card, just use it as a credit card.

2 of 8 Ways to Ensure Financial Security

Eight ways you can ensure financial security.

Kiplinger wrote, that many of us reexamined what really matters in our lives. Things that seemed so important before the tragedy of 911 now pale in comparison. It says, “financial security may not have seemed a high priority at that time, but it is the cornerstone of a well led life that makes so many other good things possible for your family. Kiplinger gives eight for your family.

Let's blog on 2 of them:

1. Invest In Yourself – Your earning power is the most valuable asset you’ll ever own. Keep your earning power growing through continuous education, training and personal growth.

2. Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones – Before you attempt to acquire ANY financial assets, make sure you have enough insurance against life’s big risks: serious illness, disability, and even death. My personal experience with this is that it’s so confusing. Trusting someone to give you sound advice on life and other insurance seems impossible.

Mike Silberstien, Northwestern Mutual told me once, “You can only buy insurance when you don’t need it. And the best time to buy it is when you least need it – when you are youngest and healthiest.”

A younger healthy person can get more than five times the coverage than a slightly older smoker with fair to poor health, and pay the same monthly premium. Save yourself a bundle and get protected at an early age.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and The Kiplinger Letter.

Family, Freinds, Life, Living

Today, rather than press on with the work that really needed to be done, I thought I would simply visit people within our workplace and listen to what they had to say, ask a question and then listen some more.

I continue to so very impressed with the quality of folks we have working with us. More so, I found that family, friends, life and living are 1st and foremost in their lives. It makes them feel good to give, and give, and give without any expectations in return.

Some are making gains and advances in their personal lives and mental health, and it shows up BIG time. Still others made the lives of others in underdeveloped counties better, and brought back a renewed appreciation for life and purpose here in the US.

I am so honored to be invited to be part of their lives through their stories. Their stories help me lead more effectively.

What Good is Wealth Without Health??

What Good is Wealth Without Health?

A wealthy person has said and maintains, “There are more important things than money, but everything that is important in life seems to be affected by money.”

New Spin on Introduction – If ya don’t have money, sometimes you can’t afford good health. Recently an employee was showing obvious signs of distress (breathing, extremely high blood pressure, etc.) and looked very sick. I believe she ended up being carted away by the ambulance. She couldn’t afford the co-pay for medications and therefore couldn’t buy the drugs necessary to maintain her health.

Correction - Last month I wrote that required expenses increased significantly in just one year to $320/month. Based on my conversations with several people, I need to restate that number to $440. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is. Dr. Phil might say, that's just “gotta” be that way.

Wealth Tip - A friend that is employed by a large successful retirement fund managing accounts says, people should not spend/invest money into a retirement fund until they have ELIMINATED ALL OF THEIR DEBT. My friend emphasized ALL and said firmly, “that includes your home.” But explained that what ever I do, I should always run the numbers. That is, using a compound interest chart, plug in what you put in the fund while trying to also pay for and pay down debt, compared to what you could pay in without all that debt in a shorter period of time.

The answer is in your hands 26 times a year - Last month I wrote that since we just gotta make more money, and another job or two is not answer. I suggested that the answer might just be in your hands 26 times a year. A few readers were anxious to know what the answer might be. One guessed “Pepsi.” I’m thinking he’s a Pepsi drinker. The answer iisssss - your paycheck. Yes – your pay check.

Anyone that is an employee and that has taxes taken out of their pay checks can reduce their tax liability (the amount of taxes owed) by subtracting business expenses. After establishing certain real expenses, change the “number of exemptions” on your W-4 in the payroll department of your employer. Employees can claim nearly the same business expenses as big corporations. However this assumes that you have your own businesses, and that you work at that business. You might even make more money.

So between the increased number of (business) exemptions on your W-4, regardless of whether you make a little extra money from that small business, you have eliminated the gap between the increased cost of living $440 and what you might otherwise make through your employer.

Warning – Many employees already use increases of exemptions on their W-4’s throughout the year to receive more money on their paychecks. They don’t have a business but they do have a home and mortgage interest paid. They use this extra money on their paychecks to “get caught up on monthly bills like gas and water,” or they pay for vacations, etc., rather than to reduce overall long term debt and to create wealth.

Bi-weekly Mortgage Payment vs Bi-monthly

What is the difference between Biweekly and a Bimonthly mortgage payment plans?

One will cut years off the term of your mortgage and save you 10's of thousands of dollars.

The difference between these two payment plans is subtle, but important.
With a bi-monthly payment plan, the borrower makes 24 payments a year (two every month) that equal the same amount as 12 regular, monthly payments. The benefit of this payment plan is that, by paying down the principal twice a month, you save some interest and more of the money from subsequent payments is applied toward the principal. The benefit is minimal, however, and you'll only shorten the term of your mortgage by one or two months at the most.

A bi-weekly payment is slightly different, as payments are made every two weeks. Because the payment schedule is based on the calendar year, a total of 26 payments are made. In other words, you're making the equivalent of one extra monthly payment every year. The benefit of this is significant; a 30-year loan, at 7% interest, will be paid off in just 23 years. If you like the idea of paying off your mortgage early, you have a couple of different options:

1. Your lender can set you up on a bi-weekly payment schedule which he will manage for you.

2. You can set up a budget and payment plan of your own that allows you to make a double-payment once a year. This will require discipline on your part, but what would you be willing to do to save $50,000 or so??

We recommend that you manage your payment plan on your own. While it's more convenient to have your lender do it, you'll pay a little extra for the convenience.

I found on www.Loan.com. My question was, how do you do this? Mark the calendar to pay an amount including PMI every 14 days, or do you just make payments on the principle on one 14 day period and then PMI (everything) on the second 14 day payment etc???

I searched from this site, "Biweekly Calculators." I did, however, have to provide my phone and e-mail address to get to this calculator. The next day I did receive a call from this lender, who left a message.

This Calculator will show you how a Bi-Weekly Mortgage Reduction Program will: Save You More Mortgage Interest! Help You Build Your Equity the Fastest! Cut Your Effective Interest Rate!
You can save even more and build equity faster by simply adding an extra $15 or $25 Bi-Weekly to your payment. You'll cut years off your mortgage.

On a $1000/Month Traditional Payment Plan example:
You will make an enormous difference in the total amount you will pay on your mortgage, simply by changing the way you make your monthly payment. Instead of the old fashioned way of making a $1,000 payment once per month, simply pay $500 every two weeks (plus any additional amount [$15 or $25] you may wish to add).

Tax Refunds - Here We Go Again

Well most of the tax year is now behind us. Many will get a tax refund in early 2009. A few will need to pay the IRS. How well did you do?

According to a recent IRS Newsroom article, federal tax refunds totaled $202 billion in 2003. Nearly 100 million taxpayers or 3 out 4 taxpayers got refunds. The average refund was about $2000.

This refund comes from money you overpaid the IRS all year long, and is based on how much you tell your employer to withhold from your paycheck each week. Taxpayers had an average of $40 a week too much withheld.

The article says that taxpayers that pay too much throughout the year want their tax refund, “ASAP, yesterday, not one day after ASAP.” The article says it’s ironic that the same people who could have kept their money when they had it – but chose not to – are such hurry to get it back?

And many repeat this process year after year after year, the article says. Some say they use the extra tax withholding as a “forced savings” method. But the IRS says, the article syas the IRS doesn’t pay interest and that these people would be better off keeping the money each week and either investing it or eliminating debit.

that paid too much want

Build Your Credit Safely - Heisman Trophy Winner

There are checking account alternatives that let you borrow money and build credit history, a really good thing for college students with financial discipline needing to reduce the interest rates for college loan. Build your credit score, without having a credit check performed, no overdraft fees, no bounced checks. I found a credit card with, "boasts 0% interest for the first year, with an initial cost to user of only $2.78 for processing. No application fee."

Get Instant Approval - Click Here Now

Heisman Trophy Winner, Mark Ingram, Alabama, won by only 28 votes.

Happy Holidays and Shopping - Wealthy Work to Creat e Assets

The wealthy work to create income producing assets (make their money work for them). The middle and other classes create expense producing liabilities (work for money) which is “the foundation of a debt-ridden society, repeating history once again.”

Not everyone wants to be wealthy, because it’s easier. They work for money rather than working so that their money works for them. About 95% of the working people on earth create wealth for the remaining 5%. Why would someone follow the teachings of those who are not wealthy. Answer - FEAR, or they simply don’t know any better.

People don’t plan to fail, they simply fail to plan

Goal-Setting - For those that have a dream, and want to make that dream a reality, it can be really hard work. Goal-setting is a necessary first step toward making your dreams come true. Successful corporations and agencies require their employees to routinely set goals and establish objectives to meet those corporate goals. Very few individuals understand the necessity of setting goals and objectives for themselves and their families, and therefore have no successes to speak of. In other words, people don’t plan to fail, they simply fail to plan. “Plan your work and work your plan.” Goal-setting will be covered in as much detail as possible in subsequent editions.

Acai Berry Shocker: ABC, Fox News, CNN, USA Today

Be careful of What you read and hear. People, News papers and TV often say and do things to get your attention. They may affect your decisions. Ba able to discern right from wrong, and do your own research and draw your own conclusions. Even if a so called expert, Rabbi, preacher, or politician says its so.

I read the following headline and immediately thought Acai Berry must have been another hokes. Headline: "Acai Berry Shocker: ABC, Fox News, CNN, USA Today
Will Acai Beerry Really Help Youu Lose Fat?"

Turns out the study reveled the following:

"Week Four: By week four I could absolutely say that I was shocked by the results of these products. Everyone here at the office couldn’t believe it either. I actually even lost another 3 lbs of body fat which helped me finally get down to my ideal dress size. I can now see first-hand why so many people are raving about these products. The results speak for themselves. And because of all the additional health benefits, I definitely plan to continue taking the Certified Acai supplement regularly."

Creating Extra Money

Tip of the Month – Use dept elimination software to calculate how much you should pay on each credit card (bill) each month and systematically eliminate everything from the high interest “bad debt” to the lower interest rate debt in a very short period of time while using the same amount of money you now spend each month on those same bills. What’s left? Lots and lots of cash.

I'm a College Kid w/BIG Loans. How's this relate.

It does not matter who you are or where you are in life. If you don't know where you are financially, you can't know the possibilities of where you want to be financially. "BIG college loans" means you may have a significant negative net worth that you might want to eliminate sooner rather than later. Otherwise, you will pay huge sums in interest, for car insurance, and more, because of your credit rating and lower net worth.

You only have so much money -- make sure you're spending it in the right places. Spending your money on tens of thousands of dollars in interest on college loans is not the "right place." Find your starting point (net worth), establish a budget, and pay that loan off as quickly as possible. Software will encourage zealous attention to detail. The results will give you suggestions on what percentage of your income you should be devoting to certain expenses and saving.

Use dept elimination software to calculate how much you should pay.

Do something different

“A day will never be more than you make of it.” By Josh Hinds “If your day consists of doing the same things you did yesterday, last month, and last year financially, and you are no farther ahead than you were then, do something different.” JC

Congratulations to one of our readers. She made a bold move recently and started her own small business. She did something different, and if she follows the tax codes she may save between $3000 and 10,000 in taxes this year alone.

Do something different and prepare your own “net worth statement.” According CNN/Money, “It’s hard to figure out how to get somewhere if you don’t know where you are.” Regardless of whether financial net worth is negative or in the positive, it is where you need to start build from that point on. Net worth means that have calculate all of your expenses (liabilities), and subtract those dollar amounts from your assets (things of value including savings, retirement, houses and car values, etc. The sum is your newt worth or owner’s equity. Although, unless you need to for insurance purposes, you shouldn’t include jewels and furs.

The average net worth by age is about $900 for 25 year olds and under; $15,000 for 25 to 34 year olds; $95,250 for 35 to 44 year olds; and $163,334 for 45 to 54 year olds. (source: CNN/Money)

The average net worth by income is: Under $25K (x 1000) is $12,500; $25K-$49,999 is $75,000; and $50K-$74,999 is $168,450.

“People fail because they don’t start, and they don’t start because they’re afraid to fail.”

Kids at mall on black Friday 2009>>

A coworker got me a book for Christmas, entitled “The Most Important Thing I Know,” a compilation of handwritten quick quotes written by such notables as Colin Powell, Stephen Covey, Laura Schessinger, Magic Johnson, and many more.

Martina Navratilola, a tennis star wrote that Katharine Hepburn once told her, “It’s not what you do in life, it’s what you finish!” Ms. Navratilova continues writing, “But many people don’t even start, because they are afraid of failure.” To me she says, “The only failure is when you don’t even try. So set your path, be brave, do your best and smile, because you are doing all of the above.”

Well what do you know. Even Ms. Navratilova recognizes what I’ve heard, read and written over and over and over again. People fail because they don’t start, and they don’t start because they’re afraid to fail.

Spend More Time Searching for Scholarships

Spend as much time searching for scholarships that match your profile, as you would working a part time job! The returns could make your parents' salary look insignificant. Trying to get this concept through to college bound students is like get a square peg through a round hole. Still we must try and get them to understand. Anything is better than graduating with student loans. Be aware that there are many scholarship scams.

CNN - Acai Berry - These berries are among the most nutritious foods of the Amazon, rich in B vitamines, minerals, fiber, protein, omaga-3 fatty acids, and omaga 9 a beneficial fatty acid.

Try a SallieMae scholarship search and the parent and college child might ultimately be better off after graduating with less debt. Still, there might be a need for some short term cash, while at the same time building credit. Try Idol White

Rueters 10-24-09 Obama presses banks on small business loans. "Insufficient capital for Insufficient capital for small businesses is weighing on the U.S. recovery from the worst recession since the Great Depression is weighing on the U.S. recovery from the worst recession since the Great Depression small businesses."

More of what you need to grow your business. With an unsecured line of credit you can do more with your business. More working capital, and more product and more equipment.

Unlike typical business loans, it’s not necessary to prepare a business plan detailing how you intend to use the funds once you get your unsecured business line of credit.

The perfect alternative to a checking account! Build your credit score, no credit, no overdraft fees, no bounced checks.

Student loans require co-signer

Last year I didn't need to cosign loans for my children in college and the interest rates were almost reasonable. This year, apparently the rules changed and they now require a co-signer. The kid's interest rates for the loans are based on the parents credit rating. Parent's credit could make children suffer with 18% interest rates for these loans. Is that fair? There are other alternatives. Your thoughts?