FINANCE SMARTS

What to pay attention to

Part 1 of this article has explained what your ultimate 3 goals are for your retirement protection, or in fact for any wealth creation: safe, quickest, and ideally also effortless – and why this is the case.

Part 1 then explained the first goal: “What is safe?”

This article (Part 2) gives answers to the second goal “What means quickest?” and answers to the third goal “What means effortless?”.

What means quickest?

Although retirement protection generally requires a long time frame, you still want it to be as quick as possible, subject to being safe (see above).

In order to accumulate capital quickest for your retirement protection, your goal is simple: You need the highest-possible yieldas per the end of your planned time frame. Of course net yield, after all costs.

You don’t need and you don’t want a high constant yield every year, because you are willing to forgo the availability of your purchase power anyway, until the end of your planned time frame! Instead, you want fluctuating (volatile) yields during your time frame and a high effective average yield as per the end of your planned time frame.

Volatile yields during your time frame relate to the next explanation under “effortless”, and a high effective average yield as per the end of your planned time frame means high capital for you, in other words, wealth. Wealth of course is the best retirement protection.

What means effortless?

Ideally, you also want an effortless retirement protection and wealth creation (see above). The easiest retirement protection would be one where, once it’s set up, your monthly protection reserves are automatically taken from your income upon receipt and invested for your retirement protection in a purchase-power-safe way.

If this automatic investment, apart from being easy, could also benefit you in some way, even better! Maybe you can find an approach to retirement protection where you automatically do the same as you might do when you go shopping or when you stop at a petrol station: Where the price is higher than usual you might buy less, and where the price is lower than usual you might buy more to make use of the bargain.

Additionally, you also want that your retirement protection is flexible throughout your time frame, because then you can easily adapt it to the changes in your living conditions over time. The importance of this unfortunately only ever becomes obvious at the time you need the flexibility, not at the time you plan your retirement protection.

Lastly, in addition to the more general flexibility you also want convertibility of your retirement protection, because then you can easily change it into something more suitable should this ever become necessary or desirable.

Summary of Part 1 and Part 2 of this article

For your retirement protection and wealth creation you want to choose real assets, use an automatic approach to build reserves regularly and long-term based on a Win-Win agreement that provides flexibility and convertibility, and rely on nothing but basic human desires.

The next article in this series (Part 3) will discuss how this best retirement protection and wealth creation works in practice. It will also drop a hint on why you may find it very worthwile to familiarize yourself with the best retirement protection and wealth creation that exists.

- About the Author: Investment Strategist, Writer, Mentor, Trainer, Public Speaker by choice. Qualified Private Banker, MBA, MSc Economics, Qualified Accountant by education. See http://www.google.com/profiles/DBMGBennett or see http://Affluability.com   Article Source

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Part 1 and Part 2 of this article have explained what your ultimate 3 goals are for your retirement protection, or in fact for any wealth creation.

This article (Part 3 in the series) discusses how the best retirement protection and wealth creation works in practice.

How it works

In order to comply with the 3 goals for your retirement protection and thus to build wealth safe, quickest, and effortless, you will want to choose equity instruments that represent productive assets.

With equity instruments and productive assets you rely on no more than the basic human desire to make a living. However, you share not just in the present assets you acquire but also in all future productivity. From now on until eternity! Without ever having to spend any further amounts!

A Win-Win agreement is for example a performance-based partnership agreement or a performance-based investment savings contract, and actually not much else in the finance sector! However, conversely to what is the current wide-spread practice, the performance basis of a financial contract should be long-term key performance indicators, not yearly ones.

In order to share in people’s basic desire to make a living, you can either give them your protection reserves directly (as was common practice since humans left the cave until the emergence of financial markets) or you invest your reserves indirectly via reputable financial markets.

When you do this, you cannot avoid the insolvency of an individual business or the bankruptcy of an individual person. Nonetheless, when you diversify your protection reserves among several such businesses and/or individuals, you can ensure that all individual failures are immaterial to you. Therefore, targeted diversification is what you will want to do!

Once you have understood and planned what is best for your retirement protection, you will then implement it. Either you will do this yourself or you will want to pay someone to do this for you: Set up standing orders or permit direct debits, sign investment savings contracts, and have your protection reserves automatically invested at regular intervals in the equity instruments and in the way you have planned.

Thorough planning is key! Unfortunately, most people are more busy in their job throughout their life than they are busy in their brain once a year. Routine is a stronger force than reason. That’s why they have to do their job far longer than they want. Sadly however, most people don’t even think about what it is that they want.

For example, I am entirely convinced that hardly anyone who routinely accepts – day in, day out – to be cooped in a compartment of public transport in rush hour with a myriad of sweaty, smelling, on toes stepping and elbow-fighting other people … wants and likes that, and loves to pay for that!

In cities like New York and London, and thousands of smaller and bigger cities all over the world, you can do a field trip to experience public transport and watch even investment bankers, partners of hedge funds, partners of Big4 audit and accounting firms and law firms, people who earn up to millions … do exactly that! Day in, day out. All their work life. That’s most of the only life they have. Incredible, isn’t it?

The point that I cannot understand is: Why don’t people better sit back and relax once a while during the evening or holiday in order to engage their brain, to think systematically about what they really want from life, what they want to give to others, and how they will achieve both in a fraction of the time they are wasting because they never think. Why?

Summary of Part 3 of this article

REAL Financial Protection, wealth creation, retirement provision, all would be so easy for you and so beneficial if you just paused your routine for a moment … to think systematically in order to get ahead forever!

The last article in this series (Part 4) will discuss how things may turn out if you don’t pause in your routine in order to choose the best retirement protection and wealth creation that exists.

- About the Author: Investment Strategist, Writer, Mentor, Trainer, Public Speaker by choice. Qualified Private Banker, MBA, MSc Economics, Qualified Accountant by education. See http://www.google.com/profiles/DBMGBennett or see http://Affluability.com   Article Source

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The first three parts of this article series have explained what your ultimate 3 goals are for your retirement protection, or in fact for any wealth creation, and how you implement it in practice.

This last article (Part 4 in the series) discusses how things may turn out if you don’t pause in your routine in order to choose the best retirement protection and wealth creation that exists.

How things turn out otherwise

How do things turn out for the vast majority of people who do not invest a bit of time to figure out what is best for their retirement protection? All those billions of people who are more busy in their job throughout their life than they are busy in their brain once a year?

Well, look around you. Are there many older people inside or outside your circle of family ancestors who live a life in affluence? Are they jetting around the globe to luxury resorts or to their own estates? Or are they packed like sardines in a can on an overcrowded beach near a mass-processing hotel once a year – if they can afford a yearly holiday at all?

In the UK the average estate in 2007 apparently left just £90k net of tax, which can be reverse-calculated to give an average net death estate of just about £600k. The problem with any such average is that they are distorted by the exceptionally high numbers, here for example the death estates that leave behind billions. Therefore, before you get excited, note that the average amount received per individual of a bequest was no more than £17,500 (!) which suggests that on average people share out their bequests between five people.

For the US it’s even harder to find out how much “wealth” most people have accumulated by the time they die. In 2009 the tax-free death estate limit was $3.5m. Without official death estate figures for the vast majority of people who have less than this, it seems difficult to give an educated guess.

If you trust the media then the media coverage suggests that the vast majority of US citizens are suffering old-age poverty already today. It is easy to anticipate that this will worsen in the future: Consider the seemingly uncurable financial incompetence of both, individuals of the general public and individuals in government administration!

If you prefer to trust statistics on wealth and poverty, especially old-age, and when you see how once well-off high earners suddenly fell into poverty (or ask me), you will realize: The future looks bleak for most people. Including those who earn loads of money but who have never acquired genuine financial competence. Who do you guess will have to finance and support the poverty around you even if you might be well-off in the future?

The biggest problem however is that people generally believe “Not me! This doesn’t relate to me! I will not be affected!”. – This leaves me always wondering: If so many people believe to be unaffected by what the majority of people suffer, then who makes up the majority?

Summary: If you don’t break out of your routine now, you risk being part of the bleak statistics in the future.

If you take nothing else away from this article series, at least write down now one sentence on your bathroom mirror with red lipstick:

Routine is a stronger force than Reason.

- About the Author: Investment Strategist, Writer, Mentor, Trainer, Public Speaker by choice. Qualified Private Banker, MBA, MSc Economics, Qualified Accountant by education. See http://www.google.com/profiles/DBMGBennett or see http://Affluability.com   Article Source

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If your are looking at Team National and are skeptical, that is fine. Being skeptical can keep us from making some decisions we will regret. What I can tell you is that I did have Team National six years ago check out by an attorney, got the yes it’s a stable,ethical and growing company back in the report and now six years later we are so thankful we joined. The income for this business is allowing us to do things with our passion we could not have done. So I don’t know what your passion is but think about, read this article about finding it and really consider if Team National might take you to your dreams.

How can we discover what is important to us? Some people call it finding our passion. Other people call it identifying what we value most. But either way, what is the process for discovering what those are? These are important questions for keeping you going in your home based business. The ups and downs are easier to navigate when you are clear on your driving passion.

In addition, discovering your passion is critical for a fulfilled life. One challenge with the quest is our continual over packed lifestyles, the lack of reflection and planning in our lives. Most people spend more time planning their vacations than their lives. So part of the process in knowing your purpose or passion is first recognizing it is an important task and then creating time to begin that journey. The word journey is important because what may be your passion at 22 might change at 30, 40, etc. Knowing that the passion you identify at 22 is not necessarily going to be your mission at 40, can be freeing. Life does ebb and flow and our passion may vary some as we age.

Once you’ve identified you need to know your passion, I recommend setting aside some time, to do some dreaming Creating the time and space to do this important work might mean an afternoon or day to yourself, but certainly carving out a few hours. Find a location that is free from distractions and encourages your creativity. If you are a spiritual person, asking for wisdom and guidance in the task will remind you are not alone. Then with a journal or a writing pad in hand begin to ask yourself some questions. Putting pen to paper is important-there is a neurological difference that comes form that activity! Some ideas for questions include: “If time and money were no object what would I do?’ “What activities give me the most joy?” “When and where do I fill the most fulfilled?” “What job or activities would I do even if I did not get paid?” “What are at least three times in my life thus far where I experienced the most passion and joy?” “Who do I know that is doing something you would like to do?” “How would I make the world a better place?” With these questions look for a theme or even a common feeling that sparks some passion. Then begin to try on some things for how they really feel. If the clarity does not come immediately, don’t be hard on yourself but let it percolate and come back to this another day or week.

Make a plan to read more on something that seems to light your fire, find mentors in an area that interests you. If your love for that continues to grow, then you will know you’re headed in the right direction. If you find your interest wanes, go back and look for other themes of a passion or ask questions again. You may find your vehicle for achieving your dreams is not about child welfare for example but if you find a home based business that is simple and allows you to create the income to reach your dream, you will be motivated to stay with the process.

- About the Author:

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How would you like to save $50 on a monthly basis on groceries? Take a look at these three tips on budgeting to get you started. I know for sure you will be able to find more on the net, and we’ll probably do further posts on it down the road. But for now, as you are starting out with a few personal finance basics begin with these 3 tips.

Keep a Strict Grocery Budget With a Strict List:

Do you know precisely how much cash you pay on food every month? A lot of people wouldn’t. That’s why the personal finance basics lesson my clients get first is on spending budget. Start looking on google for a spending budget or take a look at our resource link for a thorough budget spreadsheet. When you realize how much money you’ve allotted towards groceries, you will think twice about those HoHos. For example, if you have budgeted for $100, and essentials come to $99, you have a choice. Check out, or spend $20 or more on non-essentials and take away from various other important parts of the budget.

Schedule Your Meals:

Have you ever wandered the grocery shelves making an attempt to figure out what to get? When my clients give me personal finance basics reports, they often thank me for teaching them the significance of planning their meals. With the menu spelled out for the week you are going to know precisely what you need at the store. This also helps prevent buying extras and causes less waste. This also doubles as a time saving tip. Take a little bit of time on the sunday and make meals for the week. It’s the fiscally sensible and health conscious way for easy meals. All you’ll have to do is prepare the pre made meal, toss a salad and away you go!

Go on a Diet:

I was floored soon after reading about healthier eating and servings. Want to hear a unsettling insight into the background of McDonald’s meals in the early days. Surprisingly the existing McDonald’s Happy Meal is precisely the same size as the original combo meant for grown ups. The obstacle with bringing down grocery costs, adhering to tips on budgeting and exercising good personal finance basics is we have been brainwashed over the past thirty years to want more and more food. Places to eat use bigger helpings to fulfill patrons, but when they bring bigger meals to the kitchen table, we eat a lot more we might need. The outcomes, bigger grocery expenses thanks to an over weight culture.

There are so many additional ways to save cash on food, but I think these will give you a great start. If you can think of other useful personal finance basics as it pertains to saving money on groceries, please comment on the post for other people to see and benefit. And don’t forget to check on the web for other tips on budgeting. Take pleasure in saving money as I leave you with this food for thought. Merchants are fulltime marketing experts of their merchandise. You are only a part-time customer. Of course they are going to win the game and get you to shell out more than intended and buy stuff you do not have to have. So go armed with the only defense, your list.

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- About the Author: You can pay off your debts and save money at the same time! Say goodbye to your boss forever! A blog that will show you the secrets of the wealthy: http://www.howtomanagemoneytips.com Get a free budget sheet, net worth calculator, tools and more: http://www.howtomanagemoneytips.com/social.html Article Source

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There are a multitude of various possibilities of what you’ll do with your money. Would you be satisfied with low risk accounts or attempt to make a lot on the monetary tightrope of high risk investing. The next thing you should look at is where to place it. The choices are but not restrained to the stock market, bonds, savings/checking accounts or under your mattress. Lets go through investing concepts and other different tips on budgeting.

STOCKS:

The stock exchange has in the past outperformed every single other type of investment. From 1926 to 2008 the usual annual gain hovers close to 9.5%. The very first thing to bear in mind is that stocks are generally thought of as a long term investment, thus the high rate of return. In 1987, stocks suffered a decrease of around 25% in one day, the ugliest one day total in over 50 years. As expected, as stocks do, they rebounded and thrived for more than a decade. If you’ve got a plan that justifies locking your cash away, the stock market is a possible option. If you might be sheepish and find it difficult to stomach the idea of losing a large total of your stock portfolio then perhaps you have to keep looking.

BONDS:

Bonds are a safer bet than stocks and typically outperform the majority of regular savings accounts. Since 1926 bonds have usually returned around 5.9%. Not a bad return.

There are two types of bonds you could invest in. Short-term and long-term. Long term usually pays more in interest but again it will be a slightly more risky way to invest. The only factor to consider when determining how to manage money when investing in bonds is the rate of inflation and rising interest rates. Normally when interest rates go up bonds fall. This is on the grounds that bond buyers do not pay as much for an existing bond with a fixed interest rate.

REGULAR ACCOUNTS:

This is obviously the most trusted type of investing and most straightforward of the tips on budgeting I can offer, but also returns the lowest total for your invested cash. If you choose to save all of your retirement fund in a regular account you might in reality wind up losing money in the long haul as a result of inflation.

When it comes to the investing basics of how to manage money it truly is crucial to take some risks from time to time. You should never take a larger risk than you are comfortable making. The significant key to consider is that the higher the risk the more of a return you might get. The down side is the opportunity to have losses. This is why it’s always crucial to teach yourself as much as possible. Check out more of my blog to get the free E-Book, free budget spreadsheet, free calculators, various wonderful tips on budgeting and links to various tools. We also have a handful of leaked videos to help with your finances.

Happy investing!

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- About the Author: You can pay off your debts and save money at the same time! Say goodbye to your boss forever! A blog that will show you the secrets of the wealthy: http://www.howtomanagemoneytips.com Get a free budget sheet, net worth calculator, tools and more: http://www.howtomanagemoneytips.com/social.html Article Source

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Have you ever heard the saying that a dollar saved is two dollars earned? Do you know exactly what it literally means? It all works down to personal finance basics and becoming familiar with tips on budgeting. Part of growing to be successful financially is finding out how to become proficient with precisely how you earn and spend cash. Why don’t we take a closer look as to how a dollar saved is two dollars earned:

If you were to be paid $75, 000 annually in Ontario, Canada, here’s where your next earned dollar would go.

Marginal tax rate35.39%

CPP/EI premiums 4.95%

Pension contributions 6.00%

Union dues 1.28%

Total 47.62%

So this should mean if you were to bring in $1.00, more than 47 cents would go toward expenses. To be able to save one entire dollar you’d need to make $1.91. That is very close to two dollars earned.

I realize that not all people will have monthly pension contributions or union dues but I wanted to offer an model that was similar to my particular scenario. If you’re an American then you’ll have Social Security and Medicare in lieu of CPP and EI in Canada.

Saving a dollar rather then making two could seem sensible for most people out there. For countless people cutting back on entertainment or unneeded things is far easier than heading out and making more. The progressive tax system in the western world can make it rather challenging to get ahead only by increasing your earned earnings. A good savings plan combined with keeping with tips on budgeting is just simple personal finance basics.

With these tips on budgeting you can find out how saving one dollar is basically the same as earning two dollars. You would need to earn $1.91 if you want to be able to save one full dollar, which prompts the phrase “A dollar saved is two dollars earned.” Think about this scenario when deciding to put in more overtime to pay for your entertainment. It can cost you more than you can believe; obviously it is extremely inefficient.

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- About the Author: You can pay off your debts and save money at the same time! Say goodbye to your boss forever! A blog that will show you the secrets of the wealthy: http://www.howtomanagemoneytips.com Get a free budget sheet, net worth calculator, tools and more: http://www.howtomanagemoneytips.com/social.html Article Source

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Budgets never deliver the results. Have you actually discovered your self, or anyone else saying that in the past? I think that budgets unquestionably work. The main problem is that most people do not work at keeping with tips on budgeting and they require personal finance help. The principle of a budget is incredibly simple, and to claim that it does not work is simply utterly ridiculous. There is one particular formula that can benefit you. In fact, this one secret is that major explanation why budgets never deliver the results for a lot of people. Read on.

What exactly is the concept of a budget? Well this is precisely what I state: A budget is the notion of controlling your money if you wish to spend equal to, or less than what you make. Naturally if you accomplish this then you cannot go into debt. Easy right? I think so. Then why is it so problematic for many people to make a budget work? I’ll tell you the number 1 secret that makes a budget work: You should associate significant satisfaction with taking the measures needed to balance a budget.

This is called neuro-associations. It was a technique developed by Anthony Robbins and it originates from the concept that all people make decisions for 2 reasons:

To prevent pain or,

To gain pleasure

You see, if you constantly connect suffering with the act of managing a budget then I’m sorry to tell you, but a budget will not work for you until you change that. Most people do not associate enjoyment with using tips on budgeting. They view it as too hard to follow. All they see is all the things they can’t have, destinations they can not go and wishes they can’t achieve. I’d argue the contrary: correct financial planning will help you accomplish your goals and dreams. So keep in mind, the key to making a budget work is to link up substantial satisfaction with the act of running a budget. If you need personal finance help then this is absolutely essential. Unless you take this step then you are likely to always struggle as you try and take the measures needed to balance your budget. For a lot more useful tips on budgeting read more of our articles or check our website for free tools that can make this secret come true for you.

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- About the Author: You can pay off your debts and save money at the same time! Say goodbye to your boss forever! A blog that will show you the secrets of the wealthy: http://www.howtomanagemoneytips.com Get a free budget sheet, net worth calculator, tools and more: http://www.howtomanagemoneytips.com/social.html Article Source

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Did you ever wonder what does it takes to become a millionaire? Did you ever think if there is a formula for wealth creation to attain financial abundance? The fact is, if you were to do a study of how self made millionaires think and act, you would find a common number of steps that it is necessary for millionaires to make their fortune. These steps are not secrets or are mysterious or are only available to a few. These steps can be started by you, Today!

Step 1: Think like a Millionaire.

The first step towards financial abundance is to think like a millionaire.Millionaires have a different set of beliefs and habits that enable them to see setbacks and failures differently from the average person. They are able to see opportunities and gain valuable learning experiences. You need to have the same positive beliefs and habits to see the huge amount of financial opportunities that are available around you.

Step 2: Financial Goals and Strategy.

Millionaires all start with clear, precise financial goals that they all believed that they would be wealthy and successful one day. Most people do not set clear goals for themselves or truly believe that they will one day become rich. No matter how ambitious your financial goals may seem to be, they are just dreams unless you develop a detailed plan to turn these dreams into reality. When setting your financial goals you will need to be specific. You will need to have specific figures to focus all of your energy on. Unless you have a specific figure you will never be able to develop an action plan to achieve this goal. If your goal is to earn $50,000 a year, what would your strategy be? If your goal is to earn $100,000 would you need a different strategy and action plan? Of course you would. You might need to get a promotion in your company by taking extra evening classes and by showing extra results to your employers. What if you wanted to earn $1 million a year? Well, you would need a million dollar strategy. You might have to own your own successful company or get into investing. After you have made specific financial targets of how much wealth you want to accumulate, you must then come up with a comprehensive and effective plan to achieve these goals. It is only when you have a clear idea of how much wealth you are going to create, that you will be able to come up with an effective strategy to achieve it. It is vital to take responsibility and spend time and serious effort to develop an action plan to achieve your specific financial goals.

Step 3: Increase Your Income.

This is when people need to look at their financial plan and understand that the amount they are earning and investing right now, it might take decades before you are able to achieve all of your financial goals. So we need to accelerate your financial plan by taking positive steps to increase your income, not by 10% or 20%, but by up to 10 times. All it should take is to learn the proven methods that thousands of people have used before you to create multiple streams of income for themselves to enable them to create personal fortunes of millions. These ways can be found by investing in your library, learn how millionaires have made their fortunes. Get help from successful financial advisors. Do not be tempted by a get rich scheme out there to make your fortune overnight. The longer it takes to build your fortune the more you will appreciate it.

Step 4: Management of Wealth and Reduction of Expenses.

Once you learn how to increase your income, you are not finished yet. By increasing income is only one step of the equation. There are people who earn $100,000 a year but who are broke. On the other hand, you can earn $50,000 a year be more wealthy than someone who earns $100,000. This is because no matter how much you earn, if you do not learn to control your expenditures, you will always end up spending most of your income and end up broke. However, if you manage your money correctly, you will be able to accumulate your wealth in a much more effective manner. Always remember the fact that financial abundance is not achieved based on how much you earn but rather how much you are able to save and invest out of your income. Financial abundance can only be achieved when you learn how to make money work for you. In other words, you need to let your money compound into huge returns over time. Remember rich people invest first and spend what is left. People who are not rich, spend first and invest what is left.

Step 5: Protect Your Wealth.

When you have built a financial fortune for yourself, you must learn how to protect it. There are many people who have spent most of their lives building their fortune only to see it wiped out by circumstances not controlled or protected by them.Do not fall into the same trap. For the best wealth protection, you might need the help of experienced financial advisors to help you build a financial wall around your wealth.The 5 Steps here are just a brief summary of the steps you will need to take to achieve complete financial abundance. To study each step in greater depth, you need a practical, powerful wealth creation program. To learn more about how you can create, manage, multiply and enjoy your wealth, visit www.wealthandsuccess.ie

- About the Author: In the past I have worked in the Health and Fitness industry for 8 years, and in Retail for 9 years. I have always had a passion for goal making, inspiring and motivating others and general personal improvement. My goal was to put together a simple website so that visitors could browse through inspirational articles from authors from around the world. I achieved this goal in March 2010. The website is called: www.wealthandsuccess.ie Article Source

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Among the many things school doesn’t teach us is how to properly handle finances. This is unfortunate, and needs to change, since they are among the very most important parts of our lives. Since we can’t go back to school to learn these skills, we are forced to learn them on the fly, so to speak. Many people never do, and so live paycheck to paycheck and wait to collect from social programs when they can no longer work. What follows are simple steps that anyone can do to not only avoid an impoverished retirement, but actually create personal wealth that will allow a debt-free and enjoyable future.

1. First, you must compare your outlays with your income. Analyze your expenditures and your bills. Look for ways to reduce spending on utilities: by weather-proofing your house, turning off TVs, computers, and lights when not in use. Second, analyze what you buy. Can you save money by avoiding certain purchases? Are you eating out too much? An average meal for four people costs only a fifth as much to prepare at home as eating in a decent restaurant. Can you put off the new computer? The larger TV? The Music Collection? If you can reduce expenditures, great! (Most people and families can). You now have some leverage.

2. Look at your credit-based bills now. Notice your interest rates. There is a specific strategy here that will help you beat the creditors. Take the financial leverage you have found in step one, and apply it ALL to your highest interest credit payment. Pay as much as you possibly can on this each month until you have paid it off. At the same time, continue regular payments on your other credit lines (make sure to pay more than the minimum payment at all times). When you have paid off the highest interest account, apply those payments to the next highest interest account. Pay it off. Then again with the next, and then finally your mortgage if you have one. This is a strategy that will take a long time to complete if you have large amounts of debt, but the alternative is to be in debt forever, most likely, and no one wants that.

3. While you are paying off your mortgage you need to be looking into investments. Here’s the challenge. If you have a low interest mortgage, continue to pay it off, but increase payments to equal a twenty or fifteen year mortgage. Invest any funds that are left in as high-yielding investment as you can find. The challenge comes up when a mortgage has a high interest rate. If you cannot find an investment that yields significantly higher than the interest you are paying on your mortgage, then you are better off paying off the mortgage. The reason for this is simple: If your investment yields 9% and your mortgage is 12%, you will actually be losing 3% each month of your investment, which is being absorbed by the mortgage’ interest differential.

4. Let’s assume for a moment that your budget is stretched to the limit and you have little extra capital to pay off your mortgage quickly. You have two options. Further reduce your spending, which may not be feasible, or increase your income. Increasing income really boils down to two things. Either get a better job (or a second job), or start a home business. Because I am a home business owner and love it, I always advocate that. Check out my blog for more information. If that is not for you, though, your choices are limited to the work that is available in your area.

5. If your budget allows you to pay off your mortgage quickly, then do so. Even if there is a penalty, it likely will not outweigh the tens of thousands of dollars in interest that you will save. Then find solid, high yield investments, and funnel every ounce of capital that you have saved from eliminating your debt payments into them. It is worth finding a good investment manager, here, or using an online service with a strong rating. Investing can be a tricky business, but it’s worth the learning curve. Savings accounts, annuities, bonds, and most of the investments that were in vogue twenty or more years ago simply don’t work anymore.

6. At this point you have completed the steps to achieving financial freedom, and follow-through is all that is left. Stay on top of your investments, spend wisely, dedicate time to dealing with challenges each day and you will be living a higher quality of life than you might have previously thought possible. As with most plans and systems, the hardest part is getting started. But once you begin this process and start cycling down your debt, you will immediately feel the benefits and begin to enjoy the process.

- About the Author: I’m Dave Cleinman. The greatest joy in my life is helping my fellow humans break free of the bondage of overwork and underpay, get their lives back, and discover true freedom. For regular information on how to do this and to keep yourself motivated and filled with belief and passion, visit My blog, Step by Step. and sign up for my newsletter. Look for the post where I eat fire at Turning Point for a special treat! Article Source

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