6 Proven Wealth Building Strategies That Work!

Building wealth is as simple as saving a little bit here and a little bit there. You need not have great riches in order to accumulate wealth, but you need to have the drive, determination, and discipline to successfully increase your wealth. Let’s look at 6 proven wealth building strategies you can put to use today.

1. Pay Yourself First. If you do not set aside money before you start paying your bills, chances are you will never save any many after you pay these same bills. If your employer has a 401(k) or 403(b) plan, enroll in it and set up a reasonable percentage to invest. The money will come out before you see your paycheck, therefore the “loss” of discretionary income will be less noticeable to you. Maximize your contribution if you are able, especially if your employer matches your contribution.

2. Save Now. The earlier you start to save in your life, the more you will have later in life. Of course, if you aren’t able to save much until after your children are grown, you can step up your savings until you retire and still have a decent nest egg.

3. Get Rid of Debt. Even before you build up your savings it is best to get rid of your debt first before starting a wealth building campaign. If your credit card rate is 14% you will find it difficult to find any investment that gives you a return that exceeds that rate. It would be better for you to pay down your debt first and then implement an investment strategy.

4. Pick The Right Mortgage. If you plan on holding onto your home for a short period of time, select an adjustable rate mortgage as your rate will be lower than a fixed rate mortgage. Use the amount saved to pay down your mortgage quicker; refinance your home if rates begin to climb.

5. Build An Emergency Fund. Nothing wrecks the best laid plan more than an emergency, particularly one that costs you money. Set aside up to six months of your income to live on in case catastrophe hits. Without an emergency fund you will be tempted to take on debt, cash in your retirement accounts, and sell valuable investments. Try recovering quickly from this sort of hit to your wealth without an effective back up plan!

6. Protect Your Assets. You can have a healthy portfolio and see it disappear quickly if you are not properly insured. Make sure that your health/dental, homeowner, life, and disability insurance coverage is adequate to meet your needs. All it takes is one legal judgment against you to wipe out your assets.

Instance riches come to a few despite popular claims in the media, but most riches are realized after careful planning and effective management of your resources. You can properly prepare for the days ahead by implementing these six proven wealth building strategies today. Give yourself a gift and start making wealth building a priority!

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5 Fatal Mistakes We All Make That Drive Down Our Credit Scores

Most people don’t realize that they can drive down their credit scores even if they have a near-perfect record of paying their bills. The five classic mistakes you need to avoid are:

1. If you are applying for a mortgage, it is not always a good idea to pay off old collections, judgments or tax liens until the closing. (The exception is when the underwriting asks for these debts to be paid at your closing.)

When you pay these debts off before applying for a mortgage, they are treated and scored as new and recent accounts with delinquent activity. This drives your credit scores down.

2. Closing credit card accounts initially lowers your scores. Again, this is due to your action showing up as new and recent credit activity. Any new or recent activity will have an initial detrimental effect on your scores.

Of course, after you close inactive or unnecessary accounts the scores will eventually come up because you will have less credit or potential credit risk. But it may take months for this to occur. Unfortunately most people close superfluous accounts right before applying for a loan thinking that it will improve their scores. If you want to close these accounts, do so well in advance of applying for a loan.

3. Don’t keep high balances on credit cards and revolving debt. Maintaining balances under 30 percent of the available credit on each card can improve your scores. For example, if your available credit on a card is $1,000 keep the balance under $300. Also remember to pay off debt instead of moving it to other revolving accounts. Moving balances to zero- or low-interest credit cards can actually lower your scores.

Lured by credit card offers with low initial rates, many consumers move their credit card balances over and over again to keep their accounts at lower rates. This creates new activity on your credit report and lowers your scores.

4. Don’t apply for credit you don’t need. Many people are tempted by department store promotions offering them 10 percent to 20 percent off their purchases if they apply for a credit card. What may look like a great deal really isn’t because the new account will lower your credit scores.

Use credit cards wisely. Remember that someone who has a good credit card history is viewed more favorably by credit bureaus than someone who has no credit cards. To build an effective credit history, have a mix of installment credit (cars, furniture, etc) along with credit cards and mortgages.

5. Don’t assume the collection account, judgment or tax lien you paid has been reported to all three credit bureaus. Likewise if you close an account, don’t assume that has been reported to all three bureaus.

Unfortunately, agencies and creditors are quick to report you when you owe them money or have made a recent mistake. But they can be slow to report the final resolution to that account when you have paid them off. Collection agencies and the creditors that have sold your account to the collector are both extremely poor at reporting the account paid in full. If you have declared bankruptcy you need to be especially vigilant. Less that 50 percent of the accounts, collections and judgments discharged in a bankruptcy will show up on your credit reports after the completion of the bankruptcy.

It is your responsibility to make sure that all three bureaus have the most recent and accurate information about you. You can write to them or file online disputes with each individual bureau. Be sure to supply them with copies of paid receipts and any correspondence you may have to ensure that your record is recent and correct.

Chris Opfer is a 20-year veteran of the mortgage lending industry. He specializes in helping potential homeowners to get clarity in what is necessary for a loan approval to take place, especially where credit problems have existed. Bad credit and outstanding debt has kept many families locked out of homeownership and its simply un-necessary. Using these tips will make a difference in your ability to recover from credit issues.

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Living Within Your Means - What Do You REALLY OWN?

Pay what you owe, and you’ll know what is your own. ~Benjamin Franklin.  What a great quote to remember in a time when credit is at its highest. Credit is so easy to get, that many, especially young, people have gotten themselves into deep water with serious debt. There was a time in my life that I thought it was great to have anything that I wanted.

I learned from my Mother that during the depression, people would only buy things that they could pay for because so many people were going bankrupt. She said that people were losing their houses because they couldn’t even afford to pay the mortgages. Her generation was raised in a time of extreme desolation and held onto the knowledge and values that if you really needed something, you saved for it.

She has always told me, every time that I purchased something on credit, that I was paying for it  “over and over again”. I was enjoying something that I did not own but I was still making payments long after it’d become “OLD” and insignificant. Some people today buy merchandise, for example furniture, with no money down, no interest and no payments until later. The problem with that is the furniture is getting worn out before the last payment is made, so it’s like you’re "your living on borrowed money."

I finally understood what my Mother meant when I was filling out an application  to buy a house. It asked me to list my total worth. When I added up what I owed, to banks and credit card companies, my debt was in black and white for me to see. However, when I added up what we actually owned and added my income, my financial situation was in the red. When you calculate your net worth, you can see that all the stuff that you are buying on credit doesn’t count toward your financial worth, because you must take every creditor’s amount of payment from your financial total.

It became very obvious and upsetting to realize I had so much debt. The cars, activities, new clothes and trips took all my income and I had nothing left to save for my future. It’s because of this that I decided to quit buying things I WANTED and focused on saving for things I NEEDED. I began paying off debts and consolidating loans. It took a few years to actually get my debt down to a manageable amount that I could handle without carrying credit card balances.

Then I started looking toward the future, saving my money, rather than looking back at all the things I bought and gone into debt to own. I had begun to learn to live within my means. It is so important for parents to explain this to their children as my father did with the analogy of credit card debt to “paying for a dead horse”.

Many people today are in such great debt that bankruptcy is at its highest. Because many adult children want to immediately own what it took years for their parents to get, banks are making a fortune on the interest they make from loaning money. If bills can’t be paid on time, then additional charges are added and the debt starts to spiral out of control.

If more people would invest their money in their futures rather than throwing it away on intangibles today, there would be less debt. If people would buy the things they need and not just anything they want, they would be able to actually know what they own. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Pay what you owe, and you’ll know what is your own”.  People would buy what they could afford and needed and would know what they actually OWN.

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Money Saving Tips To Help You Retire A Millionaire

Money Saving Tips to help you Retire a Millionaire - Let's face it, when you're young, thinking about growing old is a scary thought. Will I have enough money to retire at an early age? Will I even have enough money to retire at all? Most Americans would love to retire at the standard age of 59 ½ or 65. But with the rising cost of everyday living, these targets are becoming harder and harder to hit. Increased Healthcare Costs, Rising Insurance Premiums, Housing Market Fluctuations, Energy Price Increases and Growing Medical Expenses are digging into savings that were once thought of as your nest egg. In order to retire comfortably, you must start saving at an early age. If you follow a few golden rules, you can possibly retire early and even be a millionaire.

For starters, it's imperative that you open an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) at an early age. How early? How about right out of High School! There are two types of IRA's that you should familiarize yourself with; the Standard IRA and Roth IRA. Both investments have their benefits and drawbacks that your accountant can go over with you. If you do not have an accountant ask your the financial manager of your local bank to guide you in the right direction. You can also do a quick Google search of these IRA's. The search results will give you an in depth look at how they work.

Once you have setup your IRA, a 401K Retirement Plan is a great way to invest your weekly earnings. Most large corporations offer a multitude of 401K plans to suit your needs. Some of these corporations even match your investment up to a certain dollar value. The maximum amount of money you can contribute to a 401K is 10% of your earnings. You might think this is too much but believe me, its not. After a while, you won't even realize its missing from your paycheck. In a few years, that 10% will compound itself into a nice nest egg.

Now that you have an IRA and a 401K, Debt Reduction is the next key element in striving for that early retirement. Reducing credit card debit should be your number one priority. Let's face it. Most Americans live in debt. My advice to you is, don't be one of them! Credit Card debit can consume a large chunk of the money you set aside each month for savings. With credit card interest rates as high as 21%, carrying a $1,000 balance can cost you hundreds of dollars each year if you just pay the minimum amount due. If you are holding credit card balances on multiple cards that amount to over $5,000, you should consider a Debit Consolidation Loan. Your local bank can offer advice on these types of loans or you can contact one of the Debt Consolidation Companies on the web to assist you. Just remember, when dealing with a Debt Consolidation company, they're in business to make money. Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous companies that are not looking out for your best interest, so learn as much as you can about them before signing any papers. You can check the Better Business Bureau to see if they have any claims against them. If so, steer clear and look elsewhere.

Buy a House; Do Not Rent! I can't stress this enough. Renting an apartment is just throwing money away. When renting, you're making someone else a millionaire! Here is a little story for you. When my sister got married six years ago, she asked me for some advice on married life. Well, my advice to her wasn't about marriage at all. I told her to purchase a house instead of renting an apartment. She looked at me funny and said, "Well, we plan on renting for a little while to save up enough money to buy a house." I told her that if she chooses that route, I'll be visiting her in that same apartment five years from now. Sure enough, she chose to rent and is now stuck in that same apartment because she was throwing away $1200+ per month in rent for the past six years. She could have been making monthly mortgage payments that were building equity. I know it's not easy to purchase a home these days but do what ever you can to save up enough for that down payment. There are plenty of programs for first time home buyers that can assist you. You can consult your local bank about these programs.

Follow these tips and you will be well on your way to an early retirement. Start early enough and you might even be a millionaire a few times over!

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Building a Future that Lasts a Lifetime!

We are half way through the year 2013 and just like the year came in for many in depair, disbelief, frustration and anger; it can close the same the way.

What makes a YEAR like no other? Is it self reflection, giving of time and talents, educating the mind, travelling the world, getting in shape, or even changing habits just to name a few.

In my opinion and experience, all of the above would make any YEAR like nothing you have ever seen when its positioned with PURPOSE!

Everyday many American and those across the globe struggle with WHO they are, WHAT they WANT, and WHY they want it.

I decided very early in life that I would work HARDER than anyone I knew and WORK smarter than anyone I knew because my SUCCESS and FUTURE depended on it. I have paid the price for everything in a way that is unusual because I like to HELP people. My success is dependent on HOW many people I affect and HELP them get what they are believing for and deserve. I take that responsibility seriously and I am thankful to have the heart I do.

If I could give you and honest piece of advise and help you build and/or capture the next step, place or position for your future, I would truly consider this as personal developments and business model because its cutting-edge and will position YOU to go to the place you desire and as HOW high you want to go.

This is an exclusive opportunity for those seeking a BETTER way to earn a amazing living, without having to know everything about being in business or even being in business online. Its not about having perfect credit or even having perfect anything!

It is about being on PURPOSE and designing your life to LIVE and EARN!

Take a test drive, YOUR worth it!

http://autorecruitingplatform.com/senojalexis

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Saving Money is FASHIONABLE in 2013

Living on credit is fashionable? Really? Credit is alot of things and living on it will reveal grave consequences. Indulging oneself is fashionable, and it didn't use to be. Saving money is MORE fashionable than it used to be. Why? Well, if you've been following my recent updates, I have been sharing about what it means to be financially in control. How can that happen for you? Continue to read...

Money does a lot things, it can make living your lifestyle easier and less stressful.  You have more peace in your life when you have more money. The end on the month is simply a date on the calendar, rather than a countdown to the next payday so to speak when you get REAL about saving money and making purchases born of necessity instead of impulse. You can live comfortably when you save more money too. Employment for many has become a means of survival. Having a career was all the average American could believe was possible. Now, you may look at your circumstances and wonder what went wrong. I used to earn XYZ and now I barely can afford to buy things I need.

Many people tell me that. 2013 can be your best year ever, if you recognize that what you believed was the success track to earning a stable income with retirement is no longer realistic. Saving money is realistic when its partnered with a system to help you live and save.

You can do both. You can live the way you want. You can travel the way you want. You need to understand that getting in debt is not the way to do any of those things.

Take the cringe-factor out of your life. Take the stress out of your life. Take the negativity out of your life. You have control over your life.

You can be happier and Richer in 2013!

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2013 will be YOUR best year if you WAKE UP NOW!

Many people closed 2012 in an immense of amount of frustration and unhappiness due to things simply not going the way they intended. The last few years, doom and gloom is all you hear about on the news, the internet and even among friends and family. I am personally sick and tired of people just not able to get ahead to save their lives! I am bothered by the lack of true, honest and doable opportunities for the average American to earn an extra $500 to $1000 a month even with modest effort. If I could show you, a family member or even your spouse that YOU are not alone and that 2013 is not going to be another failure, would you commit to 1 hour of your time to learn how that can change for your FINALLY? If your desire is to build a true future where you can truly take control of your finances, the lack of money and resources in your home, your family or even the business you are struggling to build - what would it be worth to you? $100, $500 or even $1000? If you can commit to being on this webinar tonite at either 4pm or 7pm, I personally believe that you will develop a stronger understanding of what has been slowing you down in earning what you believe you are worth. Show the dream stealers that you are not going to sell yourself short anymore! Click here: https://join.me/wakemeup2 If you are using a mobile device you can download join.me from https://play.google.com/store/search?q=join.me Don't let your busy schedule stop you from getting ahead this year. Sometimes too much business is not helping you grow your business and income! For East Coast guests: the time is 7pm EST and 10pm EST. Please comment on this post or email me so I can speak with you further on what you learned and perhaps if what you learn makes sense to you - we can partner and I would be more than happy to help you get started and grow in this opportunity. Blessings, Alexis P. Jones

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