Winning the money game

The Advocate, Wednesday March 30, 1994

The following facts are condensed from my many years of experience in the financial planning field. They come from a handout I gave to teenagers in our church after I gave them a talk on financial planning. I titled it, "Winning at the Money Game"

The money game is not like any other game. You cannot choose whether you'll play, for the money game is the only game in town.

Since you have no choice but to play, it behooves you to play the game very well, for losing could mean spending your life in a state of frustrating, devastating financial insecurity.

There are only two ways a person can earn an income:
1) Man at work
2) Money at work

There are only two ways to spend every dollar you earn:
1) On things that depreciate in value or are consumed
2) On things that increase in value

If you never invest your money to create wealth you will never have wealth.

You must learn the principle to "Pay Yourself First." You must develop this habit early in life if you are ever going to have wealth.

Poverty seekers are the people who spend all their money on the things they want. On the other hand, wealth seekers don't need instant gratification.
The wealth seeker can sacrifice, the poverty seeker is self-indulgent. The wealth seeker understands the secret very few seem to understand. It only has 10 words and you may be tempted to disregard it. The secret is:

"A part of all I earn is mine to keep."
There are only two ways of putting money to work for you:
1) Lend or rent your savings out to a bank and earn interest
2) Invest your savings by owning something that will appreciate in value

In simple words - Loan or Own

The formula for financial success is quite simple:
Time + Money x Rate of Return
The most important is time. Remember the mathematical laws. "The Magic of compounding" and "The Secret of becoming wealthy." "Invest a part of what you earn and let the earnings compound."

Remember, people don't plan to fail, they Fail to Plan.

Six Reasons Why 98% Fail Financially
1) Procrastination
2) Lack of a definite established goal
3) Ignorance of money's role in accomplishing goals
4) Not understanding and applying the tax laws
5) Being sold the wrong kind of life insurance
6) Failing to develop a winning attitude about money

Remember to be specific about your goals and write them down on paper. A short pencil is better than a long memory.

When laying out your financial goals it is wise to seek the help of professionals.

The best way to invest for most, if not all of us, is to put our savings into Professionally Managed Diversified Investment Funds (large pools of money) known as Mutual Funds.

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Created: Thu May 16 10:30:50 1996
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