The Rules Of Wealth - Richard TemplarIts Never Too Late To Start Getting Wealthy
Look at the Rule 1 again - anyone can make money and its not limited by your age or any other factor. All it requires is that you shift your focus to becoming wealthy and already things will happen without you having to do anything more. Obviously, if you want more than the basic that the universe is going to give you, you will have to do more. But by shifting your focus you will set wheels in motion and prosperity will come to you. And no, this isn't mumbo jumbo its a universal fact. The fact you do something - shift your focus- IS enough.No matter how long you have been going along a particular path - poverty, lack of success, whatever, it doesn't need much of a shift to alter course. And altering course can happen no matter how long you 've left it. There is no such thing as too late. Its a bit like being an ocean-going liner. You may need a lot of space to stop but it doesn't take much to get you to change direction. A couple of degrees on the wheel and you 'll be on a completely different course within the few miles.
In gaining prosperity, as in most things, there is a tapping point. Once you've added on those couple of degrees to port or starboard the resulting change in trajectory gets bigger and bigger in a sort of compound way.
It is also never too late to start investing in stocks, shares, pension, style, quality, yourself, life etc. By staying alert and alive, we resist that decline into inactivity and apathy which is such an ageing attitude. My father-in-law (always such an inspiration) started another business when he was seventy-five and not just any old business either - it was in a new technology which most fifty-year olds were having trouble getting their head around.
IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO START INVESTING IN SHARES, PENSION, STOCK, STYLE, QUALITY, YOURSELF, LIFE ETC.However, if you think its too late, it probably is. The secret is never to think that. If you think you can give up easily then you probably will. Don't Think it. Look, we came into this book together to make money - some for you and some for me. I am going to do my damnedest to help you increase your prosperity. If you think there are any barriers - age, sex, race, ability - then you are already batting on a losing wicket. Dump the
preconceptions and trust me. Its never too late to begin. Start now.
Start Saving Young (Or Teach Your Kids This One If It' too Late For You)OK, it might be too late for you to start saving young. We can't go back. But you can certainly teach your kids the importance of learning this trick. And i not suggesting we scump and save to be able to save. Saving should be something we naturally do. I guess its a trick you learn quickly if you are self employed or not, if you go bust. Every time you earn money, you put some aside fot VAT and tax. Failure to so so means scarbbing around when the return is due and you have to find it. If you put aside more than you need, the leftovers become the savings. Obviously, you only need to do this once or twice before it becomes a really easy thing to remember to do.
IF YOU PUT ASIDE MORE THAN YOU NEED, THE LEFTOVERS BECOME THE SAVINGS.I find that it is easier to have a figure so you don't have to think too much. My own figure is 50 per cent. Anything i earn, i put half straight into a savings account. i don't have to think about this. i know that some is for Tax and some is for VAT and the rest is for savings. Every now and then, i transfer the balance of what is left to the second savings account. From the super savings account, i can transfer money to a pension fund, ISA (Individual Savings Account) or whatever.
This, for me, is an easy way to save. I don't have to think too much about it. It is a method i pass to my children - spend half your pocket money and save half. I hope they 'll find this an easy method to pick up, a sort of savings muscle memory, so that they will have a quid or two when they need it at university or whatever.
I really wish i had (a) started saving young and (b) Been taught to do so. Lots of really prosperous people have said that they had wealth management drummed into them from a very early age. It seems to be an essential part of prosperity gaining.
I am fascinated to watch my own children learning about money. There does seem to be a genetic preposition for spending or saving. We treat all of them identically when it comes to money but one child finds it easy to save; another is a fanatic spender and couldn't save anything to save himself; and one is oblivious to money either way.
Understand That You Financial Needs Change At Different Stages Of Your LifeSome cultures allow for a different focus, a different strategy, during different stages of your life. For instance, up to 20 might be for being young and foolish and getting an education. Age 20 to 35 could be for getting married and raising a family. Age 35 to 55 might be for running your business and making your fortune. Life after that is for spiritual contemplation and retirement from the commercial world.
A DIFFERENT FOCUS, A DIFFERENT STRATEGY, DURING DIFFERENT STAGES OF YOUR LIFEEssentially, your financial needs change over time, reflecting what is going on in your life at any stage and the choices you make in your lifestyle at that time. You might need more money when raising a family but maybe this is a time when you can usually cope better with a little adversity.
By the time your kids are at university, you definitely need loads more cash or the poor darlings won't have enough to squander in the student union bar in the evenings, every evening. And once you hit retirement, yo can downsize again-unless you intend spending it all on expensive world cruises.
This rule is about checking where you are and what you need. And about knowing that the conditions which influence your needs do and will change. You have to make allowances for differing circumstances.
A bit of forward planning with this in mind will stand you in good stead. For example, if you're about to invest all your spare cash in a long term investment scheme, remember that if you suddenly need a bit more money as you've taken maternity leave or you want to go on a world trip career break, your money will be tied up. Think it through and anticipate possible future needs and changes.
So, quick exercise. Where are you in life? How much do you need? What is the next stage for you? How much are you going to need?
You Have To Work Hard To Get Rich Enough Not To Have To Work HardI cannot emphasize how strongly i feel about this one. I watch and learn from the seriously wealthy and have reached the conclusion that in nearly every single case they slogged their guts out to get to where they are. They often started early and they worked late into the night. They sacrificed a lot. They didn't take long luch breaks, they didn't waste time. They didn't watch television in the evenings. They worked their socks off. They know money doesn't grow on trees.
What I'm saying here is that even if you've got a great business idea or have some money to invest in share, you will only maximize your return if you work hard at your idea or investing the money wisely and managing it carefully. You have to put the effort in before you can reap the dividends.
Richard Templar is the author of The Rules Of Wealth. To get a copy of this book and other life-transforming books. Please call Zeros2Hero Bookstore on 08063044370.
