Today we're going to talk about something that's been bothering me. I call this episode simply "Investing". It's the truth about how money works. There's a lot of teaching about what people think makes you successful with money. But the reality is it's focusing on the wrong things!
Before we get started with today's show, I'd like to thank today's sponsor, Jason Hartman of The Creating Wealth Podcast and invite you all to check out his latest episode with Dr. Bruce Weinstein, on Ethics, Ethical Intelligence, Wall Street and evaluating character. It's juicy stuff, people! http://bit.ly/wealthpod
There's a lot of focus on obvious things like "spending less than you earn". I agree that will keep you from accumulating debt, but I also disagree that it's all you need to know to live a comfortable life or to become wealthy.
One thing I learned from my family is investing is not an option. It's a requirement!
My family had a belief that you spent wisely - you were careful with money - and also invested money into investments that would grow it. Whether stocks or real estate, we always somehow just knew investing on the side was not optional, it was required in order to grow your net worth and have more than enough for retirement.
My parents worked hard in their spare time to create something of worth that would grow and amount to some significant wealth. All 5 of their children deeply internalized this belief and I believe that's why all 5 of us became millionaires. It wasn't from handouts, it was by imitating our parents' behavior and investing on the side - some in real estate, some in stocks. We all learned the importance of investing and owning assets that grew in value.
It could also be that they taught us at a young age that we had to work for money. We didn't have an allowance. We worked in the yard or at the apartment building my parents invested in and were paid hourly. That's how we earned our allowance. It wasn't handed to us. The more hours we worked, the more money we made. We learned that lesson early.
So when I see so much emphasis put on "spending less", "being frugal" or "living below your means", it makes me crazy because I know it's missing an important point.
The point is to invest and grow your money. I don't care how much you save, it's rare that savings alone is going to give you the financial freedom you want. It is more likely that investing will do that for you.
One of the things I learned about billionaires recently is their #1 priority is how to gain more control over their money. I don't think that's a coincidence that billionaires want more control over their money!
I think that's how they got so rich, by taking control of their money. By watching over it, watering it, pulling weeds and making it grow. I love to tell the story about John D. Rockefeller starting out as a humble clerk who calculated his net worth every day! That's keeping your eye on it, that's keeping control of it and making sure it grows!
Wealth is created by compounding at high rates in a money engine, not by being a tightwad…not by living in a 400 sq ft home, not by canceling cable. Don't get me wrong, that's fine if you are on a very tight budget and are having a hard time making ends meet, but if you are earning a good living, then you need to be investing in money engines that are going to grow and compound your money because getting your money working harder for you is the easiest path to wealth.