Our Financial Class: The 8 steps

Scott and I started a financial class last week, and so far we are loving it. I promised a dear friend that I would write about what we are learning, and I thought it would be good to put my notes somewhere where I could find them easily.

The first class (last week) was basically an over-view of the 8 steps in the program. The course is called I-Quadrant Financial Education. It stresses the importance of Financial Education, Business Education, and Leadership Education.

"If you are frustrated, your education is tapped out!" - Jesse

If you are going to play the money game - treat it like a game. Go into it prepared and remember that the goal is Financial Independence.

If you are going to play football, you don't jump on the field unprepared. You know that you are going to get hit, so you put padding on, train yourself to handle those hits, and learn the play book. The game of money is the same, you will get hit. Most people pretend there is no game, and run onto the field unprepared. They have no padding, and no game plan. They are not ready or expecting to get hit. So when they do get hit, it flattens them.

As part of the introduction, they gave a brief history of money. They encouraged us to study the hyper-inflation of Germany before WWII (the German mark went from 4 marks per US dollar to over 3 trillion marks per US dollar,) and the period of the Great Depression.

Step 1: Financial Independence

Books: Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki; Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

This step involves the goal setting process. You need to decide if Financial independence is what you want. If it is, continue with the rest of the steps.

Step 2: Become a Business Owner

Books: E-Myth by Michael Gerber; Cash Flow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki; The Business School by Robert Kiyosaki; The ABC's of Making Money by Denis Cauvier and Alan Lysaght

The first two books he recommended if you are already a business owner. These will help you find ideas to help build your business to a greater level. The second two books are for people who do not have their own business, or for people who are scared of owning their own business.

There is a whole class on this particular step, and they don't recommend that you jump into something without knowing what you are doing. Again, this is a goal that you need to think and ponder about. In preparation for this class (which is going to be on the 12 of February) they asked us to come up with 10 business ideas that we think will thrive in a time like the Great Depression.

Step 3: Track and Trim your Time and your Expenses

Book: The 4 Laws of Debt-Free Prosperity by Blaine Harris and Charles Coonradt

We were given a tracking sheet, and asked to track our expenses and our time for at least a week. The purpose of this is to sit down with them, and they will help us see where we can trim our expenses and our time to come up with extra money and time to build a business and to learn. They talked to us briefly about the difference between needs and wants. For example: a family only NEEDS one vehicle if there is only one bread winner.

The next section of Steps they called Defensive Investments. Just like in the game of football, you have to go in prepared to get hit. This means that you need padding, and face masks, and training.

Step 4: Develop a 12 months Supply of Food for your Family

Book: Don't Get Caught with your Pantry Down by James Stevens

If there is any kind of emergency, the grocery stores will be completely out of food within 2 days. It could take up to three weeks to fully stock them once more, and that is if there is only a small delay. You do NOT want to be a millionaire and starving in that kind of situation. This is if there is a big emergency, but every family has prosperous times and lean times. Having a years supply of food helps stabilize those times, and guarantees that you can eat. With the extra money you have found through Tracking and Trimming, they recommend you build your food storage FIRST!

Step 5: 6-12 months of Income Saved in the form of Silver Rounds

Book: Rich Dad's Guide to investing in Gold & Silver by Michael Maloney

The second Defensive Investment is Saving your money until you have between 6-12 months worth of income. They recommend you hold this savings, not in an account, but in Silver. Why Silver? A few basic reasons. 1, Sliver is a commodity, and is not currently liquid. This means that you cannot dip into it easily. It will be available when you really need it, and since it might take some steps to turn it into dollars it will keep you from spending it unless in an emergency. 2, Silver and Gold have been commonly termed "God's Money" because there is only so much of it on earth. It has represented currency for centuries, and should the dollar fail, it will be used again. 3, Silver will maintain its value during inflation, so the money you put away today in silver will have the same or greater buying power in the future. 4, There is currently a huge short on the silver market, so of all the precious metals, it is the greatest value for your dollar.

Step 6: Pay Off Debt

Book: I didn't catch it, but will ask at the next meeting.

Only after your food storage and your savings are built do you turn your focus to paying off debt. They did stress that you continue to pay debts, but extra money builds up the other things first. Why?

If there is an emergency and you have put extra money on your Visa, is it going to feed your family when there is no food in the grocery store? The same principal surrounds Savings. You need to take care of you and your family FIRST before you pay off your creditors. Disaster strikes without warning, and you need to be prepared.

Step 7: Insurance and Estate Planning

Book: Becoming Your Own Banker by Nelson Nash (I think this is the book, but not sure)

They didn't go into this a great deal as we were out of time, but I am sure the class will be very interesting.

And that leads us to the final step:

Step 8: Offensive Investing

Book: The Master-Key to Riches by Napoleon Hill

These are the 8 steps that we will explore further as we go through the class.

An Update of Sorts

My dear friends,

My husband and I have been on hold in our business and investment endeavors over the last few months. Now, however, we are firmly in our home, and our pregnancy is well under way. We are involved with several projects that we have been waiting to announce, and it seems that some of them are ready to show.

In the investment realm, we have had several failures and other set backs, but have found a couple companies that we can recommend.

The first company is Product Group Financial this company has several solid investment opportunities and also provides a great education along with them. If you decided to contact them, use my name as your referral. They also have great products that can help, such as starting your own LLCs, business loans, and other great things. The minimum cash needed to invest is $10,000. They also do credit analysis and can help you gain the capital you need for the investment.

The second investment company we are involved with is a more private one. Thus, I cannot provide a link in such a public setting as this. However, if you are interested, please contact me, and I can explain what we are doing in this arena. This investment starts with a minimum of $100, so for those who cannot yet play in a larger pool, it is a wonderful jumping point.

We have also started working with an amazing company. This business has surprised us, and we have totally enjoyed being a part of it for the last few months. Combine great business sense with a wonderful product we use daily, and this has become something that we totally love doing. Here is the link to our web page all about it: Mona Vie

Meanwhile, we are constantly looking at new opportunities. . . and learning a lot. I am ready to begin posting some of those things that Scott and I have been discussing in detail, and hopefully we can inspire those of you trying similar journeys.

So Sorry For The Delay

My Dear Friends,
I know that some of you have been waiting for me to continue my discussion on HYIPs. It has been a little crazy, with the Holidays, finishing the house, and the first weeks of pregnancy. We are still in my sister's basement and living out of boxes, our house is in the last stages. Hopefully we will be able to close in three weeks.

It has been hard for me to sit down and write conclusively about this topic. It is one thing for me to risk my money, and another for me to council a friend to do the same. I am trying to make sure that what I write is exactly what I would recomend. I want so much to share with you the things I have learned, but some of those things shouldn't be published on such an open forum as this. I will finish this discussion, I promise, it just might take awhile.

In the investing arena there is much I have learned in the past year. I have learned that nothing is garunteed, but that if you don't do something, you will never progress. Everything that I have been involved in has taught me something extremely valuable, especially when I have lost. That being said, I have also found the value of a Mentor in avoiding the more devistating mistakes I could have made. I would rather learn from another's experience than my own. Of course, both kinds of learning are necessary for success. To never fail would never bring wisdom, but to refuse to listen to experience is pure folly.

I know many of you are eager to begin, and I am taking a longer time than you would like. Please email me, and I will share in a faster manner than this general discussion. Also, I have learned a great deal about business, loans, L.L.C.s, and private investing. Private investing is where the best money is made. It usually takes anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000 to get started in this kind of investment. I know that none of us have that kind of capital currently, but I have also learned a great deal about making it possible.

Hopefully I can share what I am learning with all of you. We all have such wonderful dreams, and I would like to see them all accomplished! For those of you who don't have my email address, it is threnodymaker@hotmail.com

Love you all!

HYIPs

HYIPs stands for High Yield Interest Programs. These are high risk investments that offer anywhere between .05% a day to 4% a day. This is a fairly new arena, as the internet has opened these kinds of opportunities. Like everything new, there is alot of failed programs, scams, and ponzi schemes. This means that you need to do your research before you invest. There are a few legitimate programs, ones that really are investments, and who will be around for the long haul. It is hard to see the difference between the real ones and the fake ones at first, especially as this kind of vehicle has only been around for a few years.



So over the next few posts, I will be sharing the knowledge that I have found, and talking about the investments I have made, how to do it, and what criteria you should use before making an investment. Be warned, there are hundreds of these HYIPs about, and only a handful are going to make through the long haul. This means that unless you stumble upon a keeper, you must have a good idea about what you are looking for.



Many of the HYIPs are Ponzi Schemes, they are only designed to last for a short period of time. I have seen some only last days. They are not real investing firms, they simply pay out based on what others pay in. So, you could make money if you were in at the beginning, but not in the end. The Ponzi Schemes tend to last only a few months, I have seen some only last a week. Make sure you do your research with every company. I will also give you the guidlines to weed out definate scams, and hopefully help you find a few that are real companies.

I have Returned

Okay, that was a much longer break than I anticipated. In the interim, there has been alot that has happened for us.

We are building our home, and through using www.maxhouse.com (referral #MAX1023) we will have it paid off in under 6 years without having to make extra payments. This system is amazing and I love it. I know several people who are currently using it, and have been so happy. My family is also using it, and we will all own our homes free and clear within that six year period. Maxhouse has a free online profile you can fill out, and they can give you an estimate on how much their program can save you in time and interest. It is saving us over $100,000 in interest, not to mention it is saving us about 24 years.

We have started investing. We have invested in four areas. Two of those are called HYIPs. High Yeild Interest Programs. I will be writing a blog about these later, as there is alot I have learned and some helpful guildlines for someone looking for legitimate programs vs. Ponzi Schemes. We have already made $400 off of a $2000 investment, and gearing up to do it again this month. This means that in 5 months, the investment would have paid itself back. One of the other HYIPs we are involved in we have chosen to compound everything instead of pulling out our interest. The third area we have invested in is a Bridge Funding of sorts. We give them money as a loan, and they pay the principle back with interest in two months. This is a kind of per deal thing, so you have to resubmit your money for the deal everytime you want to make money with the company. We haven't totally started with them yet, as our funds are tied up, but they should be free by the end of this month. The fourth area of investing for us is Real Estate, and believe it or not, our home is our first Real Estate Investment, because we are making money on the deal.

We will be able to finish the basement, and invest the equity in our home. Doing this will pay the mortgage at first, but using Maxhouse.com will increase our profit and by the end of six years will give us a decent monthly income.

We want to start a fifth kind of investing, and that is investing in promising businesses. We have so many friends with great ideas, and we want to help our friends reach financial security as well.

My goal is to be able to have my husband Job Optional by June. If not then, definately by the time he turns 30.

Temporary Hold

I have had to put my 101 days on temporary hold while I focus on our apartment complex. We have checkout/checkin in a couple of weeks, and there is a whole bunch of painting, washing, repairs, etc. that need to be done.

I will check back when my mornings (which is when I usually can focus on this) are free again.

Day Two

Today was about deciding if I could see my worthiness to become a millionaire. This is a very interesting question. Am I worthy to be wealthy?

In my religion, worthiness is a topic that is near and dear to our hearts. We take worthiness interviews with ourselves, and with our spiritual leaders to determine our ability to be baptised, serve missions, and attend our temples. The interviews are simple and straight forward. They help us examine ourselves, and they help us realize that, human as we are, we are still worthy individuals. You do not have to be perfect to gain the level of worthiness necessary to attend the temple. You just have to be baptized, have a testimony, and do your best to be good.

Perhaps it would be easier to understand if we explored what it would take to be unworthy to attend the temple. Pornagraphy, Adultery, Drugs, Stealing, Murder, Denying God, Trying to destroy the Gospel. . . you get the idea. So then. . . what would make me unworthy to be a millionaire?

I would be unworthy if having that kind of money kept me from my eternal goals. If the money caused me to lose my worthiness status with my God, I would be unworthy of it. If I used that money to oppress, had an attitude of superiority, and gave that attitude to my children, I would be unworthy of it. If, because of my wealth, I allowed my children to run undisciplined, and didn't teach them right, I would be unworthy of it. If I refused to give service, and hoarded my money, I would be unworthy.

Now comes the time when I explore the intents of my heart. Why do I want to be wealthy? I want to be able to give financial security to myself and my children. I believe that money is a form of power, and that Satan uses it for evil, and that God needs those with it to use it for good. I want to use it for good. I want to help others. I see so many worthy causes that I would like to help, far more than I am capable of helping now. Do I think money will corrupt me? No, I do not. I have not, when the opportunity came, given in to corruption, why would having money be any different. I also have people who I will listen to if they see me begin to follow wrong paths. I already give, I already serve, I am already striving to raise my child with love and discipline.

The final question in a worthiness interview is simply this: Do you believe yourself to be worthy? You see, in the end that is what matters. God may know you are worthy, your leaders, friends, family may know you are worthy, but you have to believe it too. Otherwise you will always question yourself. If you don't believe it, you will not feel comfortable attaining it. And the answer is Yes, I believe I am worthy of it.