| (...Continued
From Prosperity 7 secrets Pt 1)
Money Skill #1. Value It
So lets get right into it.
Money Skill #1 is to learn how to value each and every dollar
that flows into your life. Because you can achieve Financial
Freedom on just a Dollar a Day! That's right. A dollar a day.
When you think about it, financial freedom all starts with
a single dollar.
Dig one our of your wallet
or purse and examine it. This simple piece of paper doesn't
appear to be worth much. Buys you a soda. A chocolate bar.
A bad hamburger. So what if you waste one, or lose one or
throw one away? It's just a dollar. Losing value every second.
It's just a dollar. Use it or lose it.
Or is it? Is this ordinary
dollar bill more than what it appears to be? Could it be a
magic ticket to a fuller more abundant life of anywhere/time/thing
you want? I promise, when you've finished done with this tape,
you'll never think of a dollar bill in the same way ever again.
Ever.
You see, prosperous people
don't think a dollar "is just a dollar." They imagine
it is a seed...a money seed...that has the power to grow into
a huge money tree, giving off fruit to fulfill every one of
their dreams.
How will you make your millions?
And they are absolutely right.
Every dollar is a money seed.
Just like a tiny acorn contains the power to grow into a mighty
oak tree, each dollar has the power to grow into a mighty
money tree. If you destroy an acorn, the oak tree inside also
dies. So, too, with a money seed.
You can grow one of these
money trees...on as little as a dollar a day. Could you afford
that?
In a few short years, your
money tree will be full grown and majestic, growing right
in the center of your future dream home. Imagine that! Branches
of your money tree spreading along the ceiling into every
room of the house. Every few feet or so is a nodule which
pops open once or twice a day...and releases the fruit of
the tree...a crisp one hundred dollar bill. That hundred gently
floats down and lands in the strategically placed basket.
All night long you hear the pop, pop, pop as these nodules
open and release their fruit. It takes only a few minutes
to collect the fruit in the morning. 24 hours a day, your
money tree is producing fruit. While you sleep. While you
work. While you play. While you eat. It never stops. An endless
stream of cash flow. Get the picture? That's why it is so
important to preserve and protect each of these money seeds.
Every time you waste one of those silly, green pieces of paper,
it's just like throwing away a money seed. No seed? No tree.
So, how much is one those
seeds really worth? That depends on how long you let it grow
and at what rate of growth. Let's suppose you take one dollar
and put it into a special bank account that will let the dollar
grow, untouched by taxes and fees. How long will it take for
this ONE SINGLE DOLLAR BILL to grow into a MILLION DOLLARS?
That depends on what interest rate the bank account pays.
If it's like ordinary bank accounts...paying 3 to 6% interest...then
it's going to take a long, long time.
At 3% it will take 468 years
for a single dollar bill to grow into a million dollars.
What? Not planning on living
468 years? Relax. We're not done with that dollar bill yet.
We've got to supercharge it, so those nodules can start popping
in your lifetime. How can we do this? Rather than just planting
one money seed, could you plant them more often? Could you
afford to put away a dollar a day? Just a dollar a day. $30
bucks a month! You can do that.
Well, a dollar a day at 3%
grows into a million dollars in only 147 years. That's still
not fast enough, is it?
What if we raised the interest
rate from 3% to 5%. That cuts the time down to about 100 years.
Still not fast enough. How about ten percent interest? Only
56 years.
Hmmm. Not bad. A dollar a
day becomes a million dollars in only 56 years. Let that sink
in for a minute. A measly dollar day can grow into A MILLION
DOLLARS in a the span of a normal lifetime. If you put just
a dollar a day away for each of your children or grandchildren
on the day they were born, they could all be lifetime millionaires.
But what about you? Is it
too late for you? Could you still be a millionaire on a dollar
a day? It's going to take some fancy work, but I think there's
even hope for you. First of all, we'll have to find ways to
fertilize your dollars so that they grow even faster. Suppose
someone had put a dollar a day away for you ...stuck it under
the mattress...the day you were born and every day thereafter.
By the time you were to reach retirement age...there would
be $25,000 waiting for you. Now, what if they stuck it in
a bank at 3%. There would be about $75,000. At 5% there would
be just under $200,000. At ten percent interest, there would
be $2.7 million. At 15% there would be $50,000,000. That's
right. Fifty million dollars. And at 20% there would be...One
Billion Dollars!. That's one thousand million dollars. All
from one dollar a day.
I hope that sinks in deep.
Most of us waste dozens of dollars a day without even thinking.
No big deal. It's just a dollar. But extremely prosperous
people know the real truth about dollar bills. Each dollar
bill is a million dollar money seed. After all, it only takes
a dollar- a-day...JUST A DOLLAR...to grow into a fortune.
Now, it's no small feat to
make your money grow at 20%, year after year. I'll show you
several ways to do this later. But for now, I want you to
just become aware that a single dollar bill has incredible
power.
You could be a millionaire
in about 30 years on JUST A DOLLAR A DAY!
Still not fast enough for
you? OK, there's a way to speed things up. Could you plant
two or three seeds a day? Or five? Or ten? What does that
do? We'll let's cut right to the chase. If you put ten lousy
bucks a day away every single day and put it in the right
mutual funds, or stocks or real estate and let the clock tick
at 20 %, you're a millionaire in just 20 years! (Pop, pop,
pop, pop) Excited yet?
What makes a few dollar a
day grow into such huge amounts of money? It's the power of
compound interest. You've heard of this before but I want
you to really understand the concept because it's going to
power you on to your dreams. Einstein himself, said, "The
most powerful invention of man is compound interest."
Compound interest is a magic money magnifier. Compound interest
works for you while you sleep.
Remember, money that's compounding
never sleeps. Every second of every day. 24 hours a day. 365
days a year. You've got to figure out a way to get money working
for you instead of you working for money. And all it takes
is a few lousy bucks a day! You don't have to be a financial
genius. You don't have to own a big company. You can do it
from your kitchen table using the money that you're now foolishly
throwing away. If you just re-divert a few of your ill-spent
dollars and funnel them to some well-timed investments, you
can achieve financial success. It's within your grasp.
Look again at that dollar
bill. Take care of it. It's a money seed. I'll bet you'll
think twice before you throw away one of those silly, green
pieces of paper. It's like throwing away the seed to a million
dollar money tree. (maybe even a billion dollar tree.)
Every time you save one of
those money seeds, you start your way to wealth. The real
key is to keep socking away the money, even if it's only a
dollar. Let the numbers whisper their silent but relentless
message. Consistency. Day in. Day out. Save. Save. Save. Invest.
Invest. Invest. It doesn't much matter what investment you
choose. Low yielding government securities are fine...just
as long as you invest consistently for the long haul.
Constantly save. Consistently
Invest. Like clockwork. Old Faithful. It might be boring.
It might be dull. It might be hard. It might take discipline,
persistence, sacrifice. No matter. Just do it.
I met a young man in Chicago
who had made the decision to make his future bright by dimming
his desires today. He worked full time as did his spouse.
If they had been like the normal (broke) young married couple,
they would have pooled their two paychecks and bought a new
car (with a fat monthly payment) stretched themselves into
"too much house" and stressed out for the next 30
years. Instead, this young couple make an uncommon decision.
They decided to live in "too little house." Then
they disciplined themselves to get by on her paycheck and
to save his entire $2,000 a month income. They put the money
into well-selected mutual funds and watched the cash begin
to pile up.
This is true prosperity.
Live on less than you earn.
Invest the surplus.
Avoid debt.
Build long term security
It may not be get rich quick.
But it's get rich sure.
It's not the exciting rabbit.
But the tortoise laughs slowly
all the way to the bank.
But there will be no billions,
no millions, no thousands, no nothing at all unless you get
started with this plan... you need to start today. Because
waiting even one day can be extremely expensive as I shall
now demonstrate.
Suppose you could sock away
$200 per month. You set a target to have it grow at 20% per
year for the next 20 years. Now, 20% is no small feat...but
with some fancy stock picks, some real estate and perhaps
a small business on the side, you think you can pull it off.
According to my calculator, $200 per month at 20% for 20 years
grows into $632,000. Not bad!
Now, suppose, instead of starting
now, you wait a year to get started. This leaves you only
19 years of growth instead of 20. How much is in your bank
account in 20 years from today? Only $516,000. That's $116,000
less than what you could have had if you had started on schedule.
In other words, your procrastination cost you $116,000 future
dollars! Procrastination is expensive.
For each of the 365 days that
you waited, your future portfolio was shrinking by over 300
dollars. (116,000 / 365= $317.81) In other words, every day
you put this plan off, costs you $300 future dollars. Every
hour you wait costs you more than $13. You are wasting 13
dollars an hour, 24 hours a day.
What if you were to invest
the same $200 per month over thirty years? The cost of waiting
that extra year is now a whopping $842,803. That's right!
Waiting an extra year cost you almost a million future dollars.
That's over two thousand dollars a day. Or almost $100 per
hour!
Let me say this again for
emphasis. Every day you wait, every hour you delay, is like
burning up your financial future. Do it now. Yes, it will
take sacrifice. It means deferring gratification for a while
to allow your money tree to grow. When you prematurely pick
the fruit from your money tree, you stunt it's growth and
this can dramatically slow down the time for you to enjoy
a fully matured, fruit bearing money tree.
Now, why do all of this money
multiplying? In the truest sense, money is a spiritual concept.
With proper planning, you can not only take care of yourself
and the ones closest to you but you can leave a positive legacy
for your posterity. If you won't do it for yourself, at least
do it for them.
Now, look at that dollar bill
one more time.
This simple money seed contains
the power to bless you and countless future generations...if
you'll start now. A wealthy future is awaiting you. It's worth
the sacrifice. Let nothing divert you from your task. As we
continue, I'm going to share with you the six other secrets
or skills of that will make this bright financial future become
a reality for you.
Remember, it all starts with
a single dollar bill.
(Continued
in Prosperity 7 Secrets Pt 3...)
(Continued
in Prosperity 7 Secrets Pt 4...)
(Continued
in Prosperity 7 Secrets Pt 5...)
(Continued
in Prosperity 7 Secrets Pt 6...)
Authors Details: Robert G. Allen -
Prosperity, 7 Secrets.
His colossal bestseller Nothing Down established Robert
Allen as one of the most influential investment advisors
of all time. Also the author of 'The One Minute Millionaire' |
|
