Most of us are accustomed to making a payment on a house, cars and consumer debt, but just because we can make the monthly payment does not mean we can afford it.
Affording something really means paying cash for it and having money left over. So that means most people misunderstand what affording something means.
Most people are in debt and pay hundreds of dollars per month in interest that could be going towards starting a business or investment account.
What is debt doing to you?
Is it dividing your family?
Does it force you to work two jobs?
Is it robbing you of family time?
Is debt stealing your retirement from you?
Unfortunately most people are broke by choice. Maybe they don"t know any better, but the fact remains that if we keep trading time for money, do not invest for our retirement and live below our means we will always remain broke. Those are financial truths - take them or leave them.
Here are some great financial rules to live by.
1. Do not borrow money on anything that depreciates.
2. "It"s not how much you make, it"s how much you keep that is important." Blaine Harris
3. "The people who understand money spend it on assets that generate wealth. Those who don"t understand money spend it on things that consume wealth, and thus the rich get richer and the poor get poorer." Blaine Harris
4. A wealthy industrialist once said, "The source of all my wealth and power is making others depend on me for there food." John Kalanch
5. Jim Rohn said, "If you depend on your company to take care of your retirement your future income will be divided by five. Take care of it yourself, and you can multiply your future income by five."
6. George Odiorne said, "If you can"t measure it, you can"t manage it".
7. "You must know the difference between an asset and a liability and by assets, we mean assets produce income - the best assets pay cash." Robert Kiyosaki
8. Jim Rohn, "The man says, "If I had a fortune, I"d take good care of it. But I only have a paycheck and I don"t know where it all goes." Wouldn"t you love to have him running your company?"
9. "Money is simply a tool for success or mediocrity. It all depends on how you use it." Doug Firebaugh
10. Jim Rohn said, "The philosophy of the rich versus the poor is this: The rich invest their money and spend what is left; the poor spend their money and invest what is left." Why do you work?
11. Proverbs 3:9-10 says that, "God gives the seed, power and increase for us to get wealthy. God will see to it that if you handle the seed and the power properly, you will have the increase."
Have you heard the story of the donkey and the cow?
A master throws his donkey and cow down in an old well because he does not think they are worth keeping anymore. The master has one of his workers start throwing dirt down in the old well to bury them in. The dirt starts to fall on top of their heads and the cow begins to panic. The donkey tells the cow I have been in this situation before. Every time the dirt comes down trample it down. As the dirt falls the donkey and cow trample down the dirt and step by step they rise up inch by inch until they can see the worker. The worker is thinking to himself if they can get out I can take them home, so he keeps throwing dirt down the hole. More time passes by the donkey and cow step out of the hole and of course the worker takes donkey and cow home.
The moral is, there is always a way out, one step at a time.