My Money IQ

Have you ever asked yourself how the Rich Become Rich? In his 2009 book, Stop Acting Rich . . . and Start Living Like a Real Millionaire, Thomas Stanley surveyed the habits of wealthy Americans and found a good deal of commonality. The vast majority of their wealth is not inherited. Ninety-two percent are married. In 90% of the cases, the male head of the household is the major breadwinner. Fully 62% of those who are married have never been divorced. The median value of their home is $293,214. Their median realized household income from all sources in 2006 was $152,193, or more than one-half the current value of their home. In terms of personal traits, thrift is the key. They clip coupons, they buy on sale, and they practice financial discipline and self-denial.                                                                                              Source: Thomas J. Stanley, Stop Acting Rich . . . and Start Living Like a Real Millionaire, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2009.

The practice of thrift is extremely important and empowering for several reasons. It sets the stage for success in personal finance. Once you start building wealth, one success leads to another. It allows you to live below your means, to stretch your money so that you can spend less and have more. Thrift is not a skill we’re born with, but it’s nothing to be afraid of; in fact, it’s a skill well worth learning. It takes the teeth out of the marketing mantra that material success creates happiness. The state of mind that thrift brings makes it that much easier for you to define what words like “happiness” and “success” will mean in your life. In the final analysis, it really will be up to you.

Good evening to all–

e.e. cummings was quoted as saying that “to be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else–means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight.”

Why do so few people today achieve real financial success? Do you remember your earliest experience with money? I do. I was eight years old. My family was preparing to move to a new home in a different city. I owed some money to a local merchant and my father had to pay off my debt before we left. All he said was “Don’t ever let this happen again.” It was my first lesson about avoiding unnecessary debt. I would like to say that one lesson was all it took. Sadly, I’ve had to learn some lessons the hard away, through the occasional pain and tears of my own experience.

Unfortunately, our culture makes it difficult to save but easy to spend. The English language has plenty of words with negative connotations for people who are tight with their money–stingy, skinflint, miserly, tightwad, cheap and cheapskate are just a few. Positive words for smart savers are harder to find. Thrift, coming from the Old Norse word thrifast, meaning “to thrive” is such a word. Webster’s New World Dictionary defines it as the “careful management of one’s money or resources.” Interestingly, that dictionary also defines “thrive” as “to prosper or flourish: be successful; to grow vigorously or luxuriantly.”

More next week–

Mark Holland

Good evening to all–

Here are some questions for your considersation–

1) Looking down the road, what do you most look forward to doing?

2) Who do you want to spend time with?

3) Where do you dream of going?

4) Where do you see yourself living?

5) How do you intend to stay healthy and active?

6) Do you have a passion in life? What is it?

7) What are you doing to turn these dreams into goals?

Until next week–Mark Holland

Good evening to all-

Here’s a thought for tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 19–

Overpromise and underperform                                                                                               Is too often today’s business norm.                                                                                           It’s so refreshing to find                                                                                                             Businesses with our interests in mind.                                                                                     We love them through sunshine and storm.

Last night, I spoke a little bit about the necessity of having a written, specific plan. Where to begin? Have you considered completing your own Personal Financial Statement? What’s that? It’s a balance sheet. You add up your assets (what you own) on one side of the sheet and your liabilities (what you owe) on the other. The difference is your net worth.

This is important because it’s impossible to make a plan until you know your starting point. You may be under water, treading water or swimming strongly toward your destination. The main thing is to know where you are. Now you can begin to plan.

More tomorrow night.

All the best-

Mark Holland

To all–

Good evening. Sometimes, discussions about managing money can resemble Mark Twain’s famous comment about the weather. Everyone talks about it, but no one does anything about it.

Nothing happens without a plan. More specifically, nothing happens without a plan that is written down. What’s your next major planned purchase? A new car? A new home? New furniture? How precisely can you describe it? If you’re looking for a new job, how precisely can you describe it? Where will you live? What do you want your salary to be? What do you want your responsibilities to be? You get the idea.

I was told many years ago that there are three kinds of people in the world: People who make things happen, people who watch things happen and people who wonder what happened. I am convinced that those who come through all of this economic unpleasantness in the best shape will be those who decide to make things happen for themselves. These will be the people who write down their goals and priorities and then follow through.

Look for more tomorrow.

All the best–

Mark Holland

Good afternoon to all,

One of the joys of being in business is being able to be an ambassador for someone else’s business. Who is your ideal customer or client?  What do I need to know about your business, what your needs are and what you offer so that I can be a better resource to you and the people in your networks? Send me an e-mail noncom144@aol.com or call me at 801-557-7105 and let’s schedule a time to meet.

Cordially,

Mark Holland

Good evening to all,

With all of the uncertainty in the financial markets, where can you turn for information that won’t cost you hundreds of dollars? There is a lot of good information FREE, I repeat, FREE for the asking.  Right now, I’m looking at a publication from the U.S. Department of Labor titled “Taking the Mystery out of Retirement Planning.” It is a 68-page booklet, free for the asking, chock full of timely information, worksheets and reference material that can help you plan your financial future.

I also have a consumer information catalog, available through the GSA Federal Citizen Information Center, listing publications covering everything from buying a car to small business issues and travel.  It’s available through pueblo.gsa.gov. I firmly believe that having a well thought-out plan in place is essential to financial success.  Uncle Sam provides us with some of the essential building blocks–information, and FREE information at that. Check it out.

Cordially,

Mark Holland

Good evening to all.

Did you read Robert Kirby’s column in this morning’s Salt Lake Tribune? He was commenting about the Salt Lake City police officer who, last week, absent-mindedly left his firearm on the top of his car as he drove away. I think that we can all identify with that poor fellow because every now and again we embarrass ourselves by doing something like that. We’re human.  Stuff happens.

I love how he uses that story to make a larger point.  “I wonder,” he asks, “how many parents become aware too late that they forgot about their kids while driving after careers? How many marriages blow away because the people in them are too preoccupied with getting somewhere else far less important?”

Sunday is Father’s Day.  My Dad just celebrated his 90th birthday 10 days ago and I was lucky enough to be able to share it with him.  It seems like it was only yesterday that he was so much younger. . . How quickly the time slips away.

Take a minute on Sunday and give your Dad a call.  Better yet, send him a card.  Put yourself on paper.  There’s  something about a greeting card that says that you care.  Have a great week.

Cordially,

Mark Holland

 

 

Good evening to one and all.

Do you know where all of your personal information is stored?  Your Social Security number is on file with the Social Security Administration. You can find information about your driver’s license number and record, as well as your car registration, with your state Department of Motor Vehicles. Your medical records may be on file with the Medical Information Bureau if you’re applying for insurance. Your fingerprints and DNA may be on file with the FBI as well as state and local databases. your credit history can be found at the three major credit reporting bureaus.  Your name, phone number and tracking information can be on file with thousands of information gatherers.

If you have experienced the nightmare of identity theft, the information above might be of more than passing interest to you. John Gardner, Jr., a Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist puts it this way, “It’s not just financial risk.  If someone commits a crime in your name, the police can come to arrest you for something you didn’t do. Second, if someone steals your medical history and they have drugs on your record, it’s possible . . . no one will ever hire you for a job. Third, on the medical side, if you are brought into an emergency room, you could get the wrong medical treatment based on what’s in your false records. Further, someone could use your Social Security number for tax purposes and not pay taxes.  You would owe the money. People don’t understand that, in today’s world, identity isn’t just their credit history. It’s everything.”

What are you doing to protect yourself?

Mark Holland

Good evening to all.

What’s the difference between a saver and an investor?  I usually define a saver as one who wants to accumulate money without risking it.  An investor is one who wants to accumulate money but understands that its safety is not guaranteed.  Let me put that another way.  An investor is someone who can walk away, financially as well as emotionally, from money invested if the investment does not succeed.  Do you fit this description?