First you must decide how much of your income you will “pay yourself first.” That number, as Clason suggests in The Richest Man in Babylon, should be at least one-tenth of your income and can be “as much as you are comfortable with.”
And it has to be done consistently with each and every paycheck and every time you bring in any extra income. That is a profoundly important point. You want to make paying yourself first a regular habit — because until it becomes a habit, it is a chore.
|
The purpose of wealth building is not the acquisition of wealth itself but the power and peace of mind it can bring you. Unless and until you make paying yourself first an automatic part of your day-to-day routine, you won't enjoy those benefits.
In my own life, this transformation took several years. For the first two or three years of my wealth-building adventure, I managed to increase my income dramatically and put a good portion of that money aside. But I did so only after I spent a ton of money on all sorts of material rewards — a bigger house, a nicer car, some toys for me and my family.
It didn't take long to grow tired of the toys and discover that I felt little better in my Lexus than I had in my Honda. And so long as my retirement account was insufficient to do anything but keep my bills paid for six months or a year, I never felt any of the true benefits of wealth.
Pay yourself first. Invest 10%... 20%... 30% of your income, as you get it, and within a relatively short amount of time (certainly no longer than five years), you'll experience a complete change in the way you think about money.
You’ll no longer count your wealth by recounting your possessions. And you’ll begin to see your savings/investment nest egg for what it is — a true measure of your potential to live life to the fullest.
Twice a year, I take the pulse of my financial health. I add up my assets, deduct my liabilities, and come up with a figure that represents my personal net worth. You should do the same.
When that’s done, I deduct the combined value of my home, my car, and any other thing that I know I will want to keep and use even in a state of retirement or semi-retirement. After that figure is subtracted, I arrive at a number that represents my net savings — that is, my savings minus any debt.
This figure is the basis for passive income — money I can make without actually working. I count only the investment pool that can generate income — and my objective is for that income to be sufficient to pay for my lifestyle even if my active income dries up completely.
15 Minutes in the Morning
It's not about the hour you wake up, it's about what you do with the hours that you are up. Whenever you start your day, start it with a powerful morning routine to get your mind right, then focus on your #1 priority for at least 15 minutes and win a victory that the world can't take away from you no matter how crazy the rest of the day gets. You got this.
In working with the three people I mentioned yesterday in Part 1 of this essay, it's easy to see why they all arrived at middle age without three shekels among them. They have worked long and hard in various professions and at times have enjoyed incomes well above average. But when I sat down with each of them to construct a personal balance sheet, it became painfully clear that, in careers that spanned 20 years, none of them had managed to achieve a positive net worth.
Yes, they had good reasons — business setbacks, family demands, unexpected health expenditures, etc. Yes, they have had their share of bad luck.
But so have I, and so, probably, have you.
The trick to overcoming the vicissitudes of fortune is, as Algamish taught Arkad, to begin by paying yourself first.
That’s the lesson Bansir and Kobbi learned from Arkad. But Arkad goes on to explain to them why, though it is important, saving is not, by itself, enough to make you rich.
He continues with his story: “A twelfth month after Algamish had gone, he again returned and said to me, 'Son, have you paid to yourself not less than one-tenth of all you have earned this past year?”
Arkad answered proudly, “Yes, master. I have.”
“And what have you done with it?” asked Algamish.
“I have given it to Azmur, the brick maker, who told me he was traveling over the far seas and in Tyre he would buy for me the rare jewels of the Phoenicians. When he returns, we shall sell these at high prices and divide the earnings.”
“Every fool must learn,” Algamish growled. “Advice is one thing that is freely given away, but watch that you take only what is worth having. He who takes advice about his savings from one who is inexperienced in such matters shall pay with his savings.”
I’ve witnessed Arkad’s sad story more times than I’d like to admit. I’ve seen dozens of overeager investors lose fortunes. Some fell victim to cheating and lying. But all were guilty of making some form of the stupid mistake Arkad made: taking moneymaking advice from someone who didn't actually know anything about it. It’s astounding how many people do that.
Many self-proclaimed investment experts, and even state-authorized financial experts, for that matter, don’t necessarily know what they are talking about. Brokers must pass a battery of tests before they can start selling stock, but none of those exams can predict how seriously they will study the stocks they recommend or how well those stocks will perform in the free market.
Although some investment experts have substantial and impressive track records (and we identify who those are for you regularly in ETR), most do not. Countless studies have shown that, over the long run, 80% of the experts out there can't beat market averages.
That’s important to consider when it comes time to decide how you are going to invest your savings. Because you can't expect to get wealthy unless you find a way to earn a moderately high, yet very conservative ROI on your invested funds.
As Arkad learned, you need expert advice, but how do you get it?
First, recognize the difference between investing and wealth building. Investing is only one part of becoming independently wealthy. The other is developing substantial streams of income to support your lifestyle and fund investments. If making wealth building your goal is the first secret to becoming independently wealthy and if developing the habit of saving (paying yourself first) is the second secret, getting good advice about how to invest your savings is secret No. 3.
The good advice Arkad gets from Algamish is simple: Get your financial advice not from someone who has simply heard about an investment, but from someone who understands it, has personally profited from it, and is willing to share his knowledge and experience with you.
The interesting thing about the world of financial advice is that the more valuable the advice is, the less you are usually asked to pay for it.
This is an irony that I have talked about with many of the smartest financial experts I know. The really heady knowledge — the most profound truths and the most powerful secrets — are freely available to all who want them.
These are the time-tested, experience-proven truths that great books from Aristotle’s Poetics, to Ben Franklin’s Poor Richard's Almanac, to The Richest Man in Babylon have in common:
- Make wealth building your goal and develop a detailed plan to achieve it.
- Keep a part of what you earn.
- Get advice from people who truly know what they’re talking about.
Make Money Online Now
