Tuesday, August 01, 2006

So You Want to Be Rich

The first lesson we had to do in the financial group TUBIG was to write our obituary.

It was very hard for me because I wanted all these things in my life. I wanted the Nobel prize. I wanted to be rich, filthy rich. I wanted to be a dirty old man. I wanted to be able to buy anything and anyone. I wanted happiness. I wanted children. I wanted everything that the world had to offer.

Finally, I settled for 10 million dollars in net worth. I should have ten or more homes / apartment complexes. Three kids. Retirement at 55 years old.

For some people, these are pipe dreams. From what I have learned in life, your mind is the one thing that sets barriers in your existence. If you think your life sucks, it will. If you think you can not make 10 million dollars, you won't.

But you are out there asking me, "How do I start?"

Start by how I started. Becoming rich requires that you save a certain percentage of your income. A good number is 15 to 20%. You say though that this is too much. Well, I didn't say that being rich was going to be easy. If it were, then everyone would be doing it.

It helps to delay your gratification. It helps not to be too extravagant in your ways.

I don't recommend dieting or putting yourself in a budget. You always end up losing as Tuhan says. Get another job if you don't make enough money. Then, you can save more. That is how most people do it.