Moneymonk

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At the end of the day most people just want their home paid off and enough money to fund their kids’ college.

Some may not want to give their child a free ticket to college. Some just want to (at least) have the money just in case they need to assist them through the college years.

Those are the main long term goals people want to accomplish. Face it, once your home and kids college is taken care of– the rest is quite easy. Plunking money into a 401k plan is a breeze considering you have a stable income. It usually paying off the house and sending the kids to college that becomes more challenging.

You need some emergency cash in place before you get to the fun stuff–paid for home, college savings

Short term money is the old fashion emergency fund. Most keep less than 3 months of expenses in an emergency fund, very few keep 6+ months. Johnathan Clements former Wall St. Journal columnist advocated that he only keep two months savings in cash. The rest of his money was in investments. Others may use the Zero Dollar Emergency Fund

If your job is extremely stable, your target should be 3 months of expenses to keep in cash. If your income is volatile or if you’re the only worker in the household you may want to lean towards 6 months or more

Stable jobs are more recession proof- government jobs, firemen, police men, union jobs etc.

Volatile income can include people that are self employed or in sales careers.

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I discuss savings accounts and other personal finance topics in my new upcoming book
First Generation White Collar due out Fall 2010

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Stay tuned~
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1.Independent Thinking

Millionaires think differently. Not just about money, about everything. The time and energy everybody else spends attempting to conform, millionaires spend creating their own path.

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2.Vision
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Millionaires are creative visionaries with a positive attitude. In other words, wealthy people not only have big dreams, they also believe they will come true. As such, wealth seekers should set lofty goals and not be afraid of uncharted territories.

3.Skills
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Writer Dennis Kimbro interviewed successful people to determine the traits they had in common for his book, “Think and Grow Rich” (1992). He found that they concentrated on their area of excellence. Millionaires also tend to partner with others to supplement their weaker skills. Use training and mentors to refine your strong skills.

4.Passion
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Billionaire investing guru Warren Buffett says “Money is a by-product of something I like to do very much.” Enjoying your work allows you to have the discipline to work hard at it every day. People who interact with money for a living, bankers for example, often love creating new deals and persuading others to complete a transaction. But finding your dream job may take time. The average millionaire doesn’t find it until age 45,

5.Investment
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Millionaires are willing to sacrifice time and money to achieve their goals. They are willing to take a risk now for the opportunity of achieving something greater in the future. Investing may include securities or starting a business – either way, it is a step toward achieving great financial rewards. Start investing now.

6.Salesmanship
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Millionaires are constantly presenting their ideas and persuading others to buy into them. Good salesmen are oblivious to critics and naysayers. In other words, they don’t take “no” for an answer. Millionaires also have good social skills.

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source: investopedia

Never spend your money before you have it

-Thomas Jefferson

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This book was written by millionaire Mark Fisher, his book is based on the true story of his meeting with an old man who passed on the secrets of his success. When I read this book it kind of reminded me of The Richest Man in Babylon because it’s more like a story than a practical book.

Here’s an excerpt of the book:
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To become a Millionaire, you must enjoy your occupation. Those who stay in a job they hate are double penalized. Not only do they despised their work, but, worse yet, it doesn’t even make them wealthy. In fact, most people spend their lives in this strange paradox. Why? Because they are unaware of the genius laws of success, and because of fear. They waste their lives and their chances of becoming truly rich by clinging to a type of security that is mediocre at best. They believe that wealth is reserve for others, or that they don’t have the necessary talent. And why do they let themselves be tricked into believing these illusions? Because their minds are not conditioned to see reality, to see that their beliefs are an illusion

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I so love that excerpt, especially the part I put in bold. You be amazed of the people that feel, wealth is not meant for them. This book is a short read and great to add to your library for personal development!

Mark Fisher’s book is available at Amazon.com
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We all heard of an Emergency Fund, Retirement Fund but what about having a “choice fund” perhaps it can double as an emergency fund.

What is a choice fund? Simply an account in which you put money in for future opportunities that may arise.

Let’s say you are a writer and your publishing company is drastically losing money and you know layoffs are harping. Building an opportunity fund can enable you to make choices or to simply buy time. Maybe you want to travel to China and learn Chinese or maybe you want to be in a different career altogether. This fund can prepare you for life choices.

We simply think: pay off debt, invest in retirement, save for emergencies. What about your dreams, plans, and other goals.

It would be nice to have a fund for that. A choice fund gives you more opportunities!
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It’s best to have money and not need it than to need it and not have it

-Les Brown

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