Be Brave Not Safe

We’ve all been tempted by “get rich quick” opportunities (or schemes). For most of us, the endeavor amounted to nothing (for some it was a setback).

Recently, I read an article on Yahoo! Finance titled “Get Rich Slowly.” The article was an excerpt from a book titled “How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly” which describes a number of highly pragmatic steps that we can all take to secure our financial future. The most important element is: START RIGHT NOW! That is, start now on saving and investing for your future. The sooner you begin the more that compounding interest and growth will work for you, while you are earning your daily paycheck.

Instead of providing an excerpt on an excerpt, I thought I’d simply point you to the book (only 16 pages) which is available online, in 2 forms:

1. PDF edition (available for FREE) by clicking here
2. Kindle edition by clicking on the image below

A short / simple investment of time that you can make to improve your financial future. Being that it is ONLY 16 pages long, you should be able to burn through this in a matter of 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

One of my sons and I were recently discussing the benefits of setting up his weekly paycheck for direct deposit.

He happens to work for a large fast-food franchise that employs numerous teenagers and young adults. He had asked his boss about direct deposit and she said: “Just bring me your bank information and I’ll take care of getting you setup.” He brought that with him to work today.

But, I’m confused: Why wouldn’t they have promoted this to (even PUSHED this on) their employees? It would seem that setting EVERY employee up for direct deposit would be a win-win, for ALL!

“The company” would reduce the expenses associated with printing paychecks and (in the case of my son’s employer) distributing these checks to their thousands of locations. Instead, send email to notify the employees that the direct deposit has been scheduled.

An individual serves to benefit by gaining “immediate” access to ALL their funds on payday vs. waiting 2-3 business days for the check to clear.

Someone might ask: “What if someone doesn’t have a bank account?” There is a real simple answer to that: Get one, RIGHT NOW! The alternative is to pay a fee to access our hard-earned money. Absolutely ridiculous. There are no-fee checking accounts available. Try CapitalOne (previously ING Direct). By clicking on this link they will pay you $50 for signing up! BONUS (FREE MONEY)!!!

I just visited a highly popular establishment (there is one near you too) that offers a check cashing service:

• The “small fee” of $3.00 for checks up to and including $1000.

So, if our young adult doesn’t have a bank account but goes to this particular establishment they will pay $3.00 per week just to gain access to their paycheck. Given the hourly rate, they are actually working more than 1/3 of an hour just to cash the check! Not to mention the time it took to go there, wait in line and complete this (painful) transaction. Painful in that this person is giving away a portion of their hard-earned paycheck just to get at the remainder. I HATE that 🙂

When considering the cost over a year, it amounts to a waste of $156. What young adult wouldn’t like a bonus of $156? And, if they continued this way for 10 years: $1,560. Ouch!

In closing, if you are not setup for direct deposit discuss this with your manager. Even a small firm with few employees can do this! While they may not actively promote this, most will have (or could make) this option available. You just need to ask – and, maybe push a little.

Would you pay a voluntary tax? One that the government doesn’t even “require.”

Many do, each and every week. What is this voluntary tax?

It also goes by the sexy phrase: “playing the lotto.”

For financially independent gamers with nothing better to do with their money, go for it! For those who are not financially independent, here is another step (among others outlined in this blog) you can take towards achieving this very reasonable, goal.

STOP!

Consider the cost of this little, insignificant expense. Let’s say we were to play the lottery (or scratch tickets) ONLY once per week (I know, others play more) and we ONLY spend $5 (I know, others spend more) the annualized cost of this would be $260, making the cost over 10 years a whopping $2,600.

To be sure, someone always wins the “jackpot.” However, it is often the worst thing that could have happened to that person.  Check out this article on “Why Lottery Winners Crash After A Big Win.” Some might say “I’d love to have those problems.”

In all forms of gambling, the odds are heavily stacked against us. The house always wins!

Want true success and “riches”? Take the money being spent on the lottery and invest in books and audio programs as part of a continuous improvement program. And, get to work! If you keep at it, for a sufficient amount of time, you can have (virtually) anything (maybe not everything) you desire.

In the words of Forrest Gump, “That’s all I have to say about that” 🙂