Wealth Creation strategies

When it come to making money and creating wealth a wealth creation strategy is key, to help you guaranteed your wealth building success. A wealth strategy can keep you focus on your wealth building mission. If you were ever to get discourage by pitfalls of the business and investment world. You can go back to your strategies and get back on track.

One of the most important Wealth creation strategies is having control over your self, it does not matter how much money you are making or how much money you are going to make, if you can not control your impulse to spend you will not be able to generate wealth or become wealthy.

That leads me to wealth creation strategy number one - Be discipline, do not expect instant gratification, so you’ll be there for the long haul and don't fluster because of a small slip ups.

Wealth creation strategy number two - Take control of your finances. If you do not have a budget in place create one, a budget will let you know where your problem areas are located. Be sure to write your budget down and don't stray from them.

Wealth creation strategy number three - Create short term goals, longs term goals, ultimate goals and write them down. A short term goal should be set on daily and weekly bases, so that you develop momentum towards your long term goals. Your long term goal should be set on a one to two year bases. Your ultimate goals should be set on five to ten year bases. Your discretion should be apply here, set goals that are achievable and reasonable do not expect to get wealthy over night. Wealth creation is a marathon not an sprint.

Wealth creation strategy number four - Learn how to read financial statements, and find out where you are financially. A financial statement is your life financial report card; a lot of people do not bother to look at their financial statement. Because their afraid of finding out how much trouble their are financially. They are like an over weight person, afraid to step on a scale because their are terrified of find out how much their over weight by.

Wealth creation strategies number five - Read wealth creation strategy books; business books, investing books, and self improvement books. Books are great way of getting a inexpensive education, and information about any subject you are interested in. Some great books about wealth creation strategies are;

Rich Dad Poor Dad - by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Creating Wealth – by Robert Allen
Awaken The Giant Within - by Anthony Robbin
The E Myth – by Michael E. Gerber
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

You can get more information about these books and authors and much more in our Wealth Creation Resource Tools page.

Wealth creation strategy number six - create a master mind group, a master mind group it's just a group of like minded individuals working together for the same purpose. Some of the people that could be in your master mind group are your tax accountant, attorney financial adviser, banker, and a book keeper.

Wealth creation strategy number seven - Once you have the six wealth creation strategies mention above set in place. Than and only than you can start investing. Learning How to investing is key in your wealth creation strategies. Because to become wealthy you have to learn how to have money work for you, instead of you working hard for money and that is what investing is all about.

http://www.creativewealthcreationstrategies.com/wealthstrategies.php

High Interest Investing - Online Savings Accounts Explained

Buying a Car

Buying a Car: What Can You Afford

There's no sense getting all worked up about a car you can't afford. So save yourself some disappointment and figure out a payment amount you can handle before you start looking.

Break out your budget
Start with your budget. (You do have a budget don't you? If not click here for budgeting information.) How much room is there in your budget? Could you, for example, fit an extra $200 a month in your budget without strapping yourself too much or eliminating your savings? If so, can you fit an extra $300 a month in your budget? No? How about $250? Continue that process until you have a general idea of how much you extra room you have in your budget. That's how much you can afford to pay for a car every month.

Details, details, details
Before you get too excited about how much you can afford and start looking at the fanciest sports cars or most luxurious sedans, remember that your expenses will include not only your car payment, but also your insurance, gas, maintenance and other miscellaneous costs associated with operating a vehicle. As a general rule, the more expensive the car, the more it costs to insure and maintain it.

Operating expenses can be as much as one third to one half of the monthly cost of a new car. So take the amount that fits in your budget and multiply it by .66. That is the most you should consider spending on monthly payments for the vehicle to be able to afford operating expenses as well.

Last but definitely not least
This is going to hurt so let's just get it out of the way - you're going to need a big chunk of change for a down payment. How much? The bigger the better.

A dealership isn't going to give you a car with only a signature as a promise you'll pay for it later. But cash is a great symbol of your commitment to make all the payments. That's the basic idea of a down payment.

To get a loan for a car, and often for a lease, you'll probably need to make a down payment of around 10% of the total price of the vehicle. The larger your down payment, the smaller your monthly payment will be and the less you will pay in total for the car in the long run. But make sure you don't cripple yourself or deplete your savings account with too large a down payment. Find a comfortable balance.

We'll discuss exactly how a down payment affects your financing and monthly payments later on. But for now it's important that you know you will need a large sum of cash when you buy a car. If you can, delay purchasing a car so that you have some time to save up a decent down payment.

Now that you know how large a monthly payment you can afford, you can start looking to find out how much car that will get you.

Vacation Planning

ISU Financial Counseling

Iowa State University
Financial Counseling Clinic : FINANCIAL TIP OF THE WEEK

Broke from the Break?!
Spring break is just around the corner. No doubt, you’ve worked hard this semester and for this, you deserve a break. And so does your budget, right? Absolutely NOT!
Spring break is notorious for being a budget-breaker. Many students deem it a time to veer from the normal day-to-day rigors of academic life. And a change in activities usually means a change in expenses. It’s inevitable. Sticking to your budget and sulking in regret, however, doesn’t have to be.

It is reported that spring-breakers who overspend, and oh, so regret it, could have avoided doing so in many ways. Here are a few:

Don’t be a procrastination bird.
Earlier planning means catching the least-expensive worm. But, if for some reason you must wait to make your travel plans, search for deals that are tailored just for last-minute-scramblers. Visit bargain travel websites to learn how you can travel without paying the highest price tag usually attached to last-minute planning. (Remember, though, that many of the bargains are contingent on your willingness to be flexible.)

Don’t plant the seed of temptation.
Ideally, when spring break vacation has ended, so, too, should the spring break spending. Toting credit cards along with you may prove too much a temptation and ultimately a big-budget-breaker. Leave them at home and commit to spending cash whenever possible. This method allows little room for accruing additional, unaccounted for expenses. Just remember: Cash not credit. After all, avoiding unnecessary interest and fees this spring break means being able to better afford the next one!

Don’t pay when free, or reduced, is available.
You may be able to cut costs during your vacation without much compromise to your fun. Sharing a room means sharing expenses and the day’s highlights with a buddy or two. There are other ways to gain additional budget-bonus-points:
Start your day the budget-friendly way. Eat the free continental breakfast!
Use your vacation city’s entertainment/travel coupon booklet to get half-off and 2 for 1 deals!

Don’t pay at the door!
Party during the club’s ‘no cover charge’ night.
Someone—this means you—has to pay more for today’s high gasoline costs. Avoid taxi-cabs if your hotel offers free shuttle service.
Tipping helps your server, but does nothing for your budget. Avoid dining out as much as possible. Purchase groceries instead.

Having fun during spring break but avoid a financial hangover. Resolve to make a budget and stick with it. In fact, challenge yourself. Do better than your budget. Discover ways you might spend even less than you’ve budgeted and find yourself still smiling long after spring break has ended!

You? Broke from the Break?! Absolutely Not!

To get more information about providing your story, or to schedule an appointment with a counselor at the Financial Counseling Clinic please go to www.hdfs.hs.iastate.edu/financial and click on the appointment tab.

If you have tip topics you would like addressed or a story you would like to share please contact the Financial Counseling Clinic.

Doug Borkowski – GSB Funded Financial Counselor (dbork@iastate.edu)
Dr. Maurice MacDonald - HDFS Department Chair (mmacdona@iastate.edu)
Jeanna Hennick - Graduate Assistant (jhennick@iastate.edu)
Mohamad Sabri - Graduate Assistant
Jennifer Perrin - Graduate Assistant
Phone - (515) 294-8644

Do you have friends who would like to receive the weekly financial tips? Subscribe at www.hdfs.hs.iastate.edu/financial. You may unsubscribe at any time by replying to this e-mail with “unsubscribe” in the subject line.

A primary objective of the Financial Counseling Clinic at Iowa State University is to provide sound, non-biased financial information. Financial products are not sold or promoted. Our professional service is free to ISU students. The Clinic is GSB (Government of the Student Body) funded and an inexpensive educational option for non-students. Visit the Clinic’s website (http://www.hdfs.hs.iastate.edu/financial) to learn more about the clinic and/or to schedule an appointment.

Can You Afford to Retire ??

"I think this is a crisis in the making," says Alicia Munnell, director of the Boston College Center for Retirement Research. "I think 10 or 15 years from now, people who approach their early 60s are simply not going to have enough money to retire on."

"I would say, unless you're fortunate to be in the upper-income quartiles, that you're probably going to be in for a very rough ride," adds Jack VanDerhei of the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). "You're not going to have sufficient monies to pay the predictable expenses -- your housing, your utilities, your food -- plus the potential catastrophic medical care costs."

Half of America's private sector workforce has no employer-sponsored retirement plan; among the half that does, twice as many workers have contribution plans like 401(k)s than have lifetime pensions, a complete reversal from 25 years ago. The move from lifetime pensions to 401(k) plans has meant that employees now bear much more of the cost -- and risk -- for saving for retirement. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in 1978 workers put in only 11 percent of total contributions to retirement plans, while corporations put in 89 percent; by 2000, the employee share had leapt to 51 percent and the company share had fallen to 49 percent.

A major driver behind this shift is a corporate bankruptcy strategy that enables companies to terminate lifetime pension plans through Chapter 11 bankruptcy. "Chapter 11 has become an effective tool for reorganizing a business," says Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard Law School professor and specialist in bankruptcy law. "It's like a knife on the surgeon's table. Bankruptcy is the official, federal, formal way to take legal promises and just slice them off."

FRONTLINE takes viewers inside the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of United Airlines. United dumped its pension plans, which were underfunded by nearly $10 billion, on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the federal agency insuring pensions that is running a $23 billion deficit. Because the PBGC only insures pensions up to a certain amount, many United employees and retirees saw their pensions slashed dramatically.

Robin Gilinger, a 42 year-old United flight attendant, has seen her pension drop by nearly 30 percent and her other benefits cut. Gilinger says she now expects to have to work five to 10 years longer than she originally planned. "I feel very uneasy about where I'm going to be in 20 years," Gilinger says, "And I'm afraid that I'm going to end up having to work my golden years doing things that I didn't necessarily want to be doing."
With their lifetime pensions gone, the current workers of United have joined the millions of Americans trying to save for retirement in 401(k) plans. "Most people we interviewed have no idea what it costs to replace a lifetime pension," says Hedrick Smith. "And they don't realize that as they're living longer, there is an impact on their nest egg."

To maintain their standard of living, experts say Americans will need to save ten times their annual pay in their 401(k)s by the time they retire. That means saving 15-18 percent of their salaries, every year, over an entire career.
By this standard, most Americans are simply not saving enough. According to VanDerhei of the EBRI, the typical baby boomer is approaching retirement with only three times annual salary -- enough to last seven or eight years. But with life expectancies after age 65 approaching 18 years, many retirees may be living on nothing but Social Security for a decade or more.

"The nightmare I have," says pension expert Brooks Hamilton, "is the vision of people … outliving their retirement income and being down to Social Security." And the shock waves may reverberate through the entire economy. "What holds up our economy," says Hamilton, "is consumer spending. When retirees are 20 percent of the population and run out of money, then 'poof,' there goes the economy."

The change is already happening, as retirees find they are having to go back to work to make ends meet. Pat O'Neill, a retired United Airlines mechanic, is now driving a truck after his pension and benefits were cut. Winson Crabb and Gil Thibeau, two National Semiconductor retirees with widely different financial results from their company's 401(k) plan, are both still working in retirement.

"What is the meaning of retirement if the only way you can live is to work?" asks Notre Dame professor Teresa Ghilarducci "The answer is there is no meaning to retirement anymore. We are now shifting from lifetime pensions to lifetime work. It's the end of retirement."

Please click below for full program online
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/retirement/view/

Retirement

Hello!

Before you lose the financial enthusiasm that often comes this time of year (due to New Year's, tax season, year-end investment account statements, or other reasons), I'd like to encourage you to give some attention to retirement. No matter what your age, it's never too early and never too late to work on retirement savings.

Some examples:
Young adults investing for the long term can make tremendous progress. A 22-year-old who invests $2,000/year every year through age 66 will invest a total of $90,000.
Since they're investing for the long term, they can invest more aggressively - suppose their investment earns an average annual return of 10%.
The result of $90,000 investment? -- *** $1,581,591 ***

What if that young adult had waited till age 32 to start? That would mean they would invest for 35 years - a total of $70,000.
Their result would be $596,254. Still a valuable contribution to retirement. But when you compare the two examples, it's clear that starting as early as possible does make a big difference.

Okay fine, you say - but I am way past 22 and even 32.

Suppose you're 52. You may choose less aggressive investments, since your time frame is shorter - let's estimate a 7% average annual investment return.
$2,000/year, earning 7%, for 15 years will yield over $50,000. That's not enough to fund your entire retirement, but it sure would be a nice chunk of extra money
If you invest it at 6% after retirement, that $50,000 could add $300/month to your retirement income for 30 years! Or it could be set aside for major expenses: necessities like a new roof, or luxuries like a special trip.

Even if you have only 5 years till retirement, it's definitely worth saving. Suppose you save $2,000/year, and invest more conservatively - we'll estimate a 6% return. Your result would be $11,274. If you could save $3,000/year in those last five years, you would accumulate $16,911. Either way, it will be extra money you'll be thankful for later on.

It's never too early and it's never too late to save for retirement!
Taking Control of Your Money is the way to find money to save - Keep moving through the web course to find ways to make sure your money is going to your top priorities - including retirement, I hope!

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Barb Wollan
ISU Extension Family Resource Management Specialist
311 Bank St, Webster City IA 50595
ph: 515-832-9597; fax: 515-832-9599
bwollan@iastate.edu