First Financial Coach

Do you have any idea what exactly is the right financial planning? Every mature individual right now with a savings to spare must get one to be financially ahead for the future. Financial planning is simply a move where you are consciously guiding yourself to set some goals with your finances. A good financial plan can save you a lot of headaches while giving you security for the future. It is some basic planning successfully customized to meet your financial needs. It should always be based on your preferences and should be time-bound as well. This gives you a clear picture of your financial goals. You may start looking out for someone who has the basic education coupled with experience and skills to help you with your financial success. Just limit your choices with only the Certified Financial Planners. The CFP designation are the most trusted internationally and you can be assured of their strictest ethical standards. Only CFP is exactly the type of person who will give you the best financial planning. With hiring a financial planner, you always know how they are paid. One of the ways a financial planner is paid is through commissions. One of the benefits of commission-based financial planning is that it appears to be accessible and affordable. Usually, commission-based planners do not charge a fee for the financial advice. They are expecting to earn their income from the back end when they sell the financial products to implement their recommendations. The down side however is that you may pay later in the form of accepting a poor advice. When a commission-based financial planner earns most of his or her money as a financial salesperson, have some precautions. In this situation, the product sales have a tendency to drive the process. In most scenarios, the financial planning consultation and advices are rather a window dressing to attract clients for the business of selling their financial products. Unfortunately, you might be offered a one-size-fits-all plan that inevitably leads to the purchase of their high-commission products. As you can see, always look for non-commission financial planners. These are planners paid with a fee for their financial advice. You are mostly assured of an objective financial plan and you get the best out of that plan. In hindsight, it is not hard to get a professional and objective financial planning. Just do some research and try to listen to their advices first. Check their credentials. If they don’t seem too inclined with a certain product, you are probably good to go. Have the best of luck to your financial future and be wise.

Most investors select financial planners and financial advisors based on sales pitches, personalities, brand names, and verbal claims for their expertise, ethics, and results. Very few investors require background checks, but they should for the following reasons:

Advisors do not have track records that document their results
Advisors do not have mandatory disclosure requirements
There are no minimum education or experience requirements to be an advisor
Advisors omit information that damages sales results
Advisors misrepresent information so they sound like financial experts
Determining the quality of advisors is complex and time consuming
Selecting the wrong advisor is a major source of risk for investors

Very few advisors practice full disclosure because they don’t have to. Wall Street spends hundreds of millions of dollars per year on lobbyists who fight disclosures that damage company revenues and profits. For example, companies hire thousands of new advisors every year. They want them producing revenue as soon as possible. They also employ thousands of advisors who have histories of investor complaints. Investors would not buy from these advisors if they had easy access to this information.

Higher quality advisors, who practice full transparency, provide investors with the information they need to make objective decisions when they select financial professionals. They volunteer information so investors do not have to ask the right questions. They provide documentation for the information so investors have a permanent record. And, they use the services of independent third parties to conduct background checks that validate the accuracy of their information.

Advisors provide four types of information when they practice full transparency:

Competence: Education, experience, certifications, designations, association memberships
Ethics: Compliance record, licenses, registrations, fiduciary status
Business Practices: Fees, compensation, accessibility, reporting
Financial Services: Planning, investment, wealth management, tax

Advisors who are inexperienced or ethically challenged cannot afford to practice full transparency. Investors would use the information to reject them. The financial service industry’s solution is to hide information and hope investors do not ask the right questions, require documentation for advisor responses, or use third parties to conduct background checks.  Consequently, transparency is a differentiating characteristic for advisors. Investors should select advisors who provide full disclosure with background checks and avoid advisors who do not.

About Paladin Registry
Paladin was established in 2003 to provide information services to investors who use the services of financial planners, advisors, consultants, and money managers. Registry services include background checks, quality ratings, online documentation, and a match service that connects investors to local planners and advisors who achieved Paladin’s five star quality rating. Learn more by visiting www.PaladinRegistry.com.

Wall Street spends millions of dollars per year fighting disclosure for the credentials, ethics, and business practices of financial advisors. These are the same firms that tell you they believe in full transparency so investors have the information they need to select high quality advisors.

What are they hiding? They have a lot to hide. For example, financial services is a high turnover industry so there are thousands of inexperienced advisors selling investment products. Thousands or additional advisors have numerous client complaints on their records, but they stay employed because they produce substantial revenues for their employers. If investors had this information they would not buy from these companies’ advisors.

High industry turnover also explains why there are no minimum education or experience requirements for advisors and the minimum age is 18. Anyone can become a financial advisor, even convicted criminals as long as their crimes were not securities related. These are just a few examples that explain why Wall Street hides information from investors.

Investors are their own worst enemies when they limit their source of information about advisor competence, ethics, and business practices to the advisors themselves. Investors hear what advisors want them to hear. Advisors omit what they do not want investors to hear and they misrepresent information so they sound more knowledgeable than they really are. And, since the information is provided in sales pitches, investors have no written record of what was said to them.

You can’t count on the regulators to protect you from incompetent, unethical advisors who put their interests first. As disagreeable as it might sound, you have to learn to protect your own financial interests from bad financial advice and products that can legal or illegal. It is easier than you think if you follow five common sense principles.

Always conduct a background check before you select an advisor or buy the advisor’s investment recommendations.
Minimize the impact of advisor personalities, sales pitches, and brand names. They have nothing to do with advisor competence and ethics.
Limit your selection to advisors who are willing to provide full, written disclosure for their credentials, ethics, expenses, compensation, and services.
Limit your selection to professionals who Registered Investment Advisors or Investment Advisor Representatives and acknowledged fiduciaries
The advisor should be compensated with fees and not commissions

ABOUT PALADIN REGISTRY

In 2003, Paladin began providing information services to investors who use the services of financial planners and financial advisors. Our services include Background Checks, Quality Ratings, Online Documentation, and a service that matches investors to planners and advisors in their communities who achieved the Registry’s highest quality rating (five stars). Visit Paladin’s website PaladinRegistry.com for additional information.

Every year millions of investors have high expectations when they select their latest and greatest financial advisors. Where do the expectations come from? Paladin Registry (www.PaladinRegistry.com) research shows financial planners, financial advisors, sales representatives, and money managers create excessive expectations when they use sales tactics to convince investors they are:

Competent investment experts

Ethical professionals who put investor interests first
Capable of producing exceptional investment returns
Excellent communicators who keep investors fully informed

Why do advisors create high expectations? They increase their odds of winning when they create high expectations. They reduce their odds of winning if they do not create high expectations.

Win, they make a lot of money
Lose, they make nothing

Paladin research shows investors should establish relationships with financial advisors that are based on four “realistic” expectations.

Competent Advice

Investors have the right to expect competent advice from advisors that will help them achieve their financial goals. For example, they need a specific amount of money for a financially secure retirement. Advisors should provide specialized knowledge and services that help them realize their hopes and dreams

How do they know if financial advisors are competent? Advisors don’t have track records so investors must review documentation for their sources of competence: Education, experience, high quality certifications (CFA®, CFP®, CIMA®), and association memberships (NAPFA, FPA, AICPA, IMCA, CFA Institute).

Ethical Advice

Investors should expect advice that is free of conflicts of interest and puts their financial interests first. When advisors have to choose between doing what is best for investors and what makes them the most money, they should choose to do what is best for investors.

How do investors know their advisors are providing ethical advice? Most of the time, they do not know. Investors’ best protection is doing their homework when they select advisors and limit their selections to advisors who have clean compliance records, are Registered Investment Advisors or Investment Advisor Representatives, are compensated with fees like other professionals, and are acknowledged fiduciaries. Most investors use the services of experienced professionals to conduct background checks for them to validate the accuracy of advisor claims and data.

Competitive Results

Investors should expect competitive investment returns on their assets so they can achieve their financial goals. Returns will vary based on individual circumstances, return objectives, types of investments, and tolerances for risk.

How do investors know their advisors are producing competitive returns? They can compare their returns to applicable benchmarks that reflect their situations (age, asset amounts, purpose of the assets, return objective, tolerance for risk, and need for income or principal). They can also compare their returns against the S&P 500, bond funds, risk-free investments, or CPI. Relative returns are more important than absolute returns and returns that are net of all expenses are more meaningful than numbers that include those expenses.

Quality Services

Investors should expect quality services from their financial advisors. It all starts with quarterly performance reports that show recent results and describe how those results were achieved. Investors should also receive monthly statements from an independent custodian that reports the current values of assets, receipt of income, distributions, transactions, and other data. Advisors should not influence or control the companies that custody investor assets or produce monthly or quarterly reports.

Investors should also expect meetings with advisors on a regularly scheduled basis and the professionals should be readily available when investors want to talk to them. Too many investors experience advisor disappearing acts during down markets. Advisors should meet with investors on a quarterly basis to review investment returns and meet annually to update their financial plans.

ABOUT PALADIN REGISTRY

In 2003, Paladin began providing information services to investors who use the services of financial planners and financial advisors. Our services include Background Checks, Quality Ratings, Online Documentation, and a service that matches investors to planners and advisors in their communities who achieved the Registry’s highest quality rating (five stars). Visit Paladin’s website for additional information.

 

Petrograd connection, planning and statecraft

Saving nations from financial raiders

 

Wendell W Solomons

CityVista_gmail.com

 

 

In brief

 

Piracy once roamed the seas. That was the status quo. History says that queen Elizabeth I authorised naval commanders, including Sir Walter Raleigh, to plunder merchant schooners. Over time, piracy at sea seriously interfered with the trade of merchants. They promoted the development and acceptance of conventions by countries against sea piracy and it was outlawed.

 

In contrast, modern rules that had been developed to prevent invasion of the economy by financial raiders were set aside. The Anglo-American alliance, represented from 1976 by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, gradually removed safeguards that held back financial raiders. Thirty years onwards several large banks have become mistrustful because of unprecedented fraud in financial markets.

 

In Germany today, chancellor Angela Merkel stands in the forefront of the EU movement for bringing back rules so that trade between countries can flow without unusual price hikes. In addition, survival in many a nation will require rationing and state planned distribution for efficient use of basic goods such as food.

 

The Chicago school of monetarists – which substantiated invasions by financial raiders – was not able to persuade China to put aside its central planning system. Therefore, this large developing country will cope better with the world economic recession.

 

Ex-Warsaw pact countries including Czechia, Poland and Russia use budgetary systems today that can be reinforced by activating their own planning resources. Specialists in planning in the Germany’s east can also share the experience, which helped raise the economy from 1945 after destruction in the war.

 

On the other hand, today’s trade flows will be hurt by nations that rely solely on high level financial planning. The monetary crisis of 1997, which hurt Japan, South Korea and other US allies in Asia, brought up the issue of financial terrorism. At what seems like the tail end of a string of events, the names of financial organisations prominent in the Western hemisphere, receive mention in connection with the loss of immense resources.

 

 

 

Full Report

 

Every writer on economic themes must at some moment quote Adam Smith. So did the Chicago monetarists when during the last 30 years their plans advised removing safeguards and allowing financial raiders in. Citing reforms for a free flow of capital, they let people choke on rogue instruments that included the shares, bonds or securities of WorldCom, Enron and AIG.

 

“Economics” was known in statecraft. Yet, the 18th century granted Adam Smith, Professor of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow University, an eminence surpassing all others. Two millennia earlier Aristotle, serving as tutor to Alexander the Great, had been using the term ‘Oikonomika’ (dictionaries derive ‘economics’ from the Greeks.) Further east, advisor Kautila, serving Indian royalty, evoked several volumes entitled ‘Artashasthra’ (‘Worth Treatise’.)

 

It is in year 1757 that we track down the facts that contributed to the eminence that Adam Smith obtained. That year saw Benjamin Franklin, a prominent scientist and statesman, asked to account for the wealth of the American colonies across the Atlantic. Here are words recorded when Benjamin Franklin was called to speak before the British Parliament on the wealth of the colonies:

 

“That is simple. In the colonies we issue our own money. It is called Colonial Scrip. We issue it in proper proportion to the demands of trade and industry to make the products pass easily from the producers to the consumers. In this manner, creating for ourselves our own paper money, we control its purchasing power, and we have no interest to pay to no one.”

 

Franklin’s words regarding currency in Parliament alarmed private financiers.

 

The financiers union, the Bank of England had been incorporated on July 27, 1694, as a joint-stock association with a capital of £1.2 million. The company received the right to issue notes and a monopoly on corporate banking in England ? in return for an immediate loan to the king of the entire treasure. They had calculated that such treasure would never be returned whereas interest from the king’s treasury would keep accumulating in their hands in perpetuity. Through this action (1) the king would become an accessory of their company and (2) in their receiving authority to print and issue banknotes as counterpart to the treasure ? their power would advance in the land by leaps and bounds.

 

After Franklin’s words on an economic theme, the financiers sped into counter-attacking the American colonies. They had to force the colonies to give up the idea of issuing their debt-free currency, a competing product. In consequence their Bank of England won over Parliament and King George III signed the Currency Act of 1764 to decree that the colonies stop printing their own money. Staging financial terrorism, the bankers also saw to the dispatch of shiploads of counterfeit Colonial Scrip to contribute to economic depression in the colonies.

 

 

Benjamin Franklin pioneers study of electricity of lightning storm [picture]

 

Benjamin Franklin recorded, “In one year, the conditions were so reversed that the era of prosperity ended, and a depression set in, to such an extent that the streets of the Colonies were filled with unemployed.”

 

This led the colonies into warfare with Britain and two decades later the rebels decided on the unilateral declaration of independence on 4th July 1776.

 

The government of George III however continued warring with the colonists on money floated by the same financial city of London. The borrowed money went even into hiring men in Germany to serve as British soldiers. Because, the volume of borrowing grew large, some in the financial city reasoned that added taxation of people in mainland Britain to pay interest would bring rebellion into the mainland against both king and financiers. The stakes became too high for the financiers.

 

History begins in Glasgow

 

In consequence, the help of people like Glasgow professor Adam Smith was sought. Besides staving off rebellion at home, the other task was to condemn supporters everywhere of Benjamin Franklin’s debt-free currency.

 

Smith came up with a book in 1776. The book’s title, “The Wealth of Nations” inadvertently gives away the over-trumping Smith intended in the controversy that Benjamin Franklin had caused when he was asked about “the wealth of the colonies.”

 

Smith’s work was prepared after studying authors in Britain and abroad. It took up many themes but most importantly for posterity, Smith rearranged Bernard Mandeville’s “Fable of the Bees.” This story had become famous in the 1724 edition of Mandeville’s book where he drew an example from the bee collecting nectar to suggest that “Private vices bring public benefit.” Sanitising and sanctifying Mandeville’s theme, Smith converted it into a claim on the Invisible Hand:

 

He announced that every individual in pursuing his or her own good is led, as if by an invisible hand, to achieve the best good for all. Therefore any interference with free competition by government is almost certain to bring bad effects.

 

 

Adam Smith who proclaimed the Invisible Hand [picture]

 

 

Adam Smith’s sanctification of Mandeville’s ‘private vice’ theory performed three functions at the altar of London’s financial city:

 

(1) He soothed king and government – and helped towards a truce with the rebels;

 

(2) Smith left the financiers to fight another day (he, for instance, keeps from exposing the financiers’ motives that had catalysed the loss of the American colonies.) The financiers could rejuvenate by utilising other markets (for instance, they switched Britain’s “free trade” from cotton imports from America to imports from Egypt);

 

(3) Using the concept “Invisible Hand” Smith was creating a hyper-real association with the benevolent hand of the Almighty. He had contrived meaning for a Christian population, for comparison in this context, not a Buddhist population.

 

 

Economics moves through Petrograd to the Chicago Boys

 

Smith surmised that to expose the hand of finance capital, to let it be seen as a plutocracy or oligarchy, would at the time, court rebellion in the British mainland.

 

On the other hand, despite job losses everywhere in the world today, we don’t see rebellion on the boards. Does that mean sea change arose?

 

We must in part attribute this to the well-financed parade of Ayn Rand, the ideologue behind the monetarists and long term associate of guru Milton Friedman (and also of the USFed’s Alan Greenspan.)

 

She had arrived in the USA in 1926 from Bolshevik-era Petrograd where the avid viewer of silent movies had found promise in studying Social Pedagogy at university in Russia. Her environment was such that in place of the concerns of Adam Smith, she had immersed herself in nihilists who served up “Nothing Matters” to soothe those professionals who dissented under the Tsar. Reflections on nihilism are available in publications by Turgenev and other contemporaries.

 

What is nihilism?

“However, if I may say so,” Nicholas Petrovich interjected, “you deny everything or, to put it more precisely, you are destroying everything…. But it’s essential to construct as well.” To which Bazarov the Nihilist replied: “That is not our affair…. We must make a clean sweep first.”

Ivan Turgenev in 1862 novel ‘Fathers and Sons’

 

The Anglo-American heritage and background to the ‘Invisible Hand’ axiom was left somewhere in the attic as Ayn Rand went on to preach her doctrine of “God is I” (for no one else matters.)

 

If we were to try to give voice to her in relation to Adam Smith, her doctrine declares that the “Invisible Hand is I”. Her doctrine evokes self-adulation and self-promotion in the general population when by calculation, the first among equals, giant financial groups such as Citibank, J P Morgan or Lehman Brothers, gain the lion’s share. It is no level playing field. Sensing relaxed rules, fly-by-nights afflicted vulnerable populations world-wide. In Sri Lanka, a TV English teacher used his popularity with audiences to set up a finance company and then vanished into the night with his depositors’ savings.

 

The scriptwriter for these events, Ayn Rand, was a first-generation American. Such was the case for the parents of Milton Friedman and his frontline Chicago Boys (Chicago University arose through the finance/oil Rockefellers endowment.) In brief, we had aliens catapulted into Anglo-American heritage with its historical bases in the Mayflower Compact and the Magna Carta – and someone took aliens seriously. This gave rogue traders impetus because it unhinged the balance in civics and ethics that Adam Smith had intended.

 

 

 

Petrograd scriptwriter of statecraft Ayn Rand

 

 

Rand wrote opaque prose but her work led the parade because other campaigners allied with big money sponsored media reviews and successfully promoted Ayn Rand’s work in paperback edition for sale to students and academe on campus.

 

Over the years her marketers fused her self-adulation axiom with “self respect.” In a final phase, when Great Communicator Ronald Reagan arrived in the Presidency, Ayn Rand’s axiom merged with the story “Customer is King” (i.e. the familiar advertising claim.) It finally went out for use in media under headings such as, “Free to Choose.”

 

That crept into ethics and morality as [I am] “Free to Choose” [and the devil take my neighbour.] Out at No: 10, Downing Street, philosopher in residence Alan Walters, so mesmerised PM Margaret Thatcher that she exalted, “There’s no such thing as society; there are only individuals and families.”

 

Rand’s nihilist fable had annulled society and provided Reagan-allied PM Thatcher with steely self-righteousness to sell out her “null” constituency if she so desired (that is, after collecting the deposit of people’s votes at the elections.) The worth of her constituency could now unflinchingly become the influence that the PM’s office gives to the personas of Mr. Dennis and Mrs Margaret Thatcher. Still, that was only the thin edge of the wedge. The Ayn Rand axiom on neglecting community led on to encourage negligence on the part of countless politicians, state officials and market regulators. That gave the first among equals, the financiers, their 30-year tickets to run.

 

 

 

Safeguards against fraud

 

Joseph Stiglitz, a 2001 Nobel prizewinner, comments in part on the results of the negligence, “The pursuit of self-interest by Enron and WorldCom did not lead to societal well-being; and the pursuit of self-interest by those in the financial industry has brought our economy to the brink of the abyss.”

 

Financial fraud was a known phenomenon. Anglo-American statesmen had at home therefore long balanced Adam Smith by installing filters to block wrongdoers. The institutions that statesmen created to keep away the pursuit of dangerous self-interest include Fair Trading bodies and Securities Commissions. Later, shortsightedness generated by the monetarists did away with these filters against the creation of toxic waste.

 

Yet, even beyond that Friedman, during a descent from his corresponding Planet Me, was to confess that he had overlooked the rule of law as a fundamental requirement in transition to a market economy. Make a clean nihilist sweep first; ask questions about civil requirements later. J K Galbraith comments about his contemporary, “Milton’s problem is that his theories have been tried.”

 

Today, reports on toxic waste fill the same network media that promoted the Chicago Boys after Great Communicator Ronald Reagan went into occupation of the Oval Office.

 

Still, there’s more. Petrograd’s Ayn Rand had chosen to outbid revolutionary parties by offering a more radical human freedom. Using that legend, the Chicago Boys mired potential revolutionaries, peaceful or otherwise, in the ever-changing consumer choices that media advertising generates ? Windows Me, My Yahoo, i-Mac, i-Pod ? a wave of products catering for “me” (and not “you”!)

 

President Kennedy once said, “Those who make peaceful revolutions impossible will make violent revolutions inevitable.” If a peaceful return to a normally functioning economy is impaired, then today’s consumers will seek salvation otherwise. If high-end financial planning does not finally pay off ? to speak of the future hypothetically ? it is China’s central planning system that may save souls who in fishing trawlers and yachts, cast off from the US Pacific rim for China.

 

In Russia, on 6th April.2009 Vladimir Putin decided to place before the modern Duma for debate for the first time, the state budget. Considering his country’s available know-how, this step can prepare the ground for a salvation that includes activating the personnel of central planning administration GOSPLAN. It was set aside with subversive intentions by the USAID team gathered by Lawrence Summers. He was previously on the reform team that bequeathed Lithuania the highest suicide rate in Europe. Wall Street has seated a veteran guide of financial buccaneering as head of President Obama’s White House Economic Council.

 

Can we say “Yes, Wall Street financial planners will eliminate toxic waste creation soon?” Or perhaps an IMF super currency may help nations trade internationally if gold is stockpiled by bullion merchants as blueprinted by the 1930s Great Depression?

 

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel is now in the forefront of the EU movement to bring back rules so that the trade of nations can again flow undisturbed.  Yet, for many a nation survival will require careful rationing, supported by economic planning, to utilise food and other resources that are becoming scarce and expensive.

 

Coping with the recession will be easier in China. The Chicago school monetarists, who canvassed in favour of invasion by raiders, could not talk this large developing country into setting aside its planning system.

 

Ex-Warsaw pact countries including Czechia, Poland and Russia use budgetary systems today that can be reinforced by activating their own planning resources. Specialists in planning in the Germany’s east can also share the experience, which helped raise the economy from 1945 after destruction in the war.

 

On the other hand, today’s trade flows will be hurt by nations that rely solely on high level financial planning. The monetary crisis of 1997, which hurt Japan, South Korea and other US allies in Asia, brought up the issue of financial terrorism. At what seems like the tail end of a string of events, the names of financial organisations prominent in the Western hemisphere, receive mention in connection with the loss of immense resources.

In this consumer based society we live in we are spoilt for choice in terms of the consumables we are offered. Regardless if we actually need these products or not billions is spent in the media to convince us that we do. The vast majority of the population do not live within their means. The increasing availability of credit is one factor that is blamed for the increasing amount of personal debt in western society.

On the surface it seems that the availability of credit has plunged many into huge amounts of debt that they will spend the rest of their life paying off but this same weapon called credit it used by savvy investors to create a life of luxury and prosperity in which they can afford the finer things in life.

So what is the major difference in how successful investors and the average consumer use credit?

Well the major difference is smart investors use credit to leverage their investment exposure. This simply means they borrow to invest. Smart investors do not take on credit if in the long run it will not lead to an increase in income and a positive cash flow. The average consumer on the other hand spends thousands on new cars that depreciate rapidly, holidays they can’t afford, large plasma TV’s, designer clothes, and houses they can’t afford to live in. Ironically some smart investors do like the life of luxury but they almost always certainly live within their means.

The message is quite simple if you must live a life of luxury never borrow money to do so invariably you will end up spending years to pay off huge debts. These crippling debts often lead to stress, depression and in allot of cases divorce. Millions of people worldwide live in the bondage of debilitating debts and the only reprieve they are offered is more debt over a longer time period to ease their current debt repayments aka debt consolidation . Extreme caution is advised if you choose debt consolidation as an exit from a life of debt.

So how can one make the transition from debt to prosperity

1: Evaluate your Cash Flow
Determine how much money you have coming in each month and how much money is being paid out in debts, expenses and other liabilities. Start with your expenses and get rid of monthly outgoings that are not necessary. This is foregoing temporarily certain amenities for a permanent solution to debt. Club memberships and other things that are not necessary can be cancelled. Once you have trimmed down your monthly outgoings by 100-200 pounds / dollars save the extra money or spend it on repaying debts off quicker.

2: Avoid paying Interest only
Interest only loans may seem cheap in terms of monthly repayments but in the long term the overall amount you repay can sometimes be as much as 50-150% of the original loan.
3: Live within your means
This is quite simple forget what you have been brainwashed to believe, you don’t have to drive a new car or have the finer things in life at the expense of personal debt. Buy only what you can afford to pay for in cash. By forming the habit of only paying cash you are forced to purchase only the things that you can afford.

4: Pay of Loans early
Paying debts of quickly means you end up paying less in the long run. Think about it why are banks so happy for you to pay less monthly?

5: Consult a financial planner
Sit down with a financial planner and draw a road map to get you out of debt.

Taking any of the above steps will free up a few extra hundreds a month. Now that we have a bit of free money you must start to invest if you don’t want to retire poor. Remember regardless of what you have stored for your retirement cash based assets have continued to devalue over the last hundred years and even further back. This simply means 1 million 10 years ago had more buying power that it does today and its only reasonable to assume 1 million today will not have the same buying power in the next 10 years. Drastic steps must be taken to secure your future otherwise you may retire with the nasty shock that you simply can’t afford to retire.

The key is investing your money (yours and the banks) and getting it to work as hard as possible. Once your outgoings are reduced and you live within your means you should now be looking to supplement your income with investments and / or small business. This time you use your old adversary called credit and turn him into an ally.

By using financial leverage you are simply speeding up the transition.
But before you even think of investing a dime invest in your financial education by buying books on success, prosperity, financial planning and budgeting. Once you have gained better insight into the financial world seek financial advice.

Some of the things you can invest in include buy to let properties, franchises, small home based business just to name a few. But most new investors start of with real estate. But be smart real estate is all about timing and pricing so if you do start of by acquiring real estate make sure you no what your doing and the timing is right.

In summary cut your outgoings, pay loans of early, live within your means and used credit as a tool to increase your investment income and not for personal extravagance.

Good luck and hopefully you join me and make that transition form debt to financial prosperity.

I would like to share with you my 17 Personal Rules of Investing. These are the rules that guide me while I am actively pursuing Advanced Level Five Active Investing. These 17 rules are the rules that have allowed me to build my wealth and reach personal financial freedom. I look forward to sharing them with you to help you on your personal journey to Financial Freedom.

Take a good look at the Rules that you are currently using with regards to money and investing. Are YOUR Rules empowering or limiting your financial success?

And now here are my 17 Personal Rules of Investing. Read, enjoy, and learn! You can enjoy financial freedom from home through real estate investing.

Rule 1 – My Rules

I play by My Rules, not the rules of anyone else. Active Investors know that they must have control at all times. They do not play by the rules dictated by others (such as so called ‘expert’ financial planners, accountants, lawyers, tax planners, brokers and bankers who all too often play by the rules of “It Can’t be Done” or “We Don’t Do That Here”). Active Investors design their own Rules and adapt the world to them rather than complying with and adapting to the rules of others.

Note: this does not mean breaking the law! All that I do, whether in the area of business, tax planning, entity strategies, or investing is all completely legal and above board. There is no room in the business and investing world of the Active Investor (where your reputation is as vital as your skills), for shades of gray. There is no need. Everything I could ever want to do can be achieved using my own rules, within the framework of existing laws, regulations and codes. I only do what is “white as the driven snow.” I strongly recommend you do the same.

Rule 2 – The Twelve Generalized Principles of Active Investing

Always respect and follow the Twelve Generalized Principles of Active Investing. They are the blueprints upon which to build your Rules.

1. Belief
2. Do What You Love/Love What You Do
3. Serve
4. Niche
5. Leverage
6. Lateral Thinking
7. Market Research
8. Efficiency
9. Lag
10. Timing
11. Stewardship
12. Proper Action

Rule 3 – Integrity

In my opinion the most important thing is Integrity. If the people I am playing (working) with do not have Integrity I don’t play (do business) with them. I have found out the hard way that people with questionable Integrity usually turn on you before the deal is done. Remember that Integrity is more important than anything else.

Rule 4 – Know the Rules

Before I play “The Game” I want to know four things: a) the Rules of the Market; b) the Rules of “The Game” (based on my Niche); c) the Rules to ROIAT (Return on Investment after Tax) Maximization; d) My Rules.

Rule 5 – Buy Wholesale

As an investor I know that to make a profit I must buy wholesale (or sub-wholesale) and then resell at retail (or just below).

Rule 6 – Profit at Purchase

Make your money when you buy, not when you sell. When making a decision on what to offer for a property I make a decision solely based on the cash flow or capital gains profit (after expenses). I NEVER include the tax savings or appreciation. I don’t include them because they are unknown, constantly changing and not guaranteed.

Warning: Beware of Salespeople cloaked as Real Estate Agents or Marketers, Stock Brokers, Financial Planners, Investment Advisors, etc. All those fancy charts, brochures and presentations are designed to fool you. Do not ever buy an investment based on “projected yields” or “future appreciation” or “potential tax savings.” That is the “game” of the unsuccessful investor.

Rule 7 – Low Risk Idea

I only have at risk a small percentage (0 – 3%) of MY net worth in any one investment. I do this because even though I have never lost money on an investment, I want to eliminate the possibility (fear) of being financially ruined by a couple of deals gone bad.

Clarification: when I say that I only have less than 3% of my net worth at risk in any one investment I am not saying that I only have 3% invested in total. What I am saying is that I have used Level Five Advanced Investor techniques (Principles and Rules) to limit my downside risk to just 0-3% of any given investment. I generally have at least 90-95% of my investment capital invested at any one time. Just not 90-95% of it at risk! I minimize my risk by following proper money management risk reduction strategies.

Rule 8 – Other People’s Money

I use OPM (Other People’s Money) whenever possible. Leverage allows me to do far more transactions than I ever could on my own. Remember, it’s always better to have a piece of the pie than none of the pie.

Rule 9 – Money Back

I structure my transactions so that if I have money in the deal I get all of it back in the quickest possible time. Remember, one of the major keys to money is to have it work for you and once you have your initial investment back your money is working for you at the rate of return of infinity. On most of my transactions I have all of my money back within the first year.

Rule 10 – Don’t Wanters

I buy from people who really do not want their property.

This means that I generally buy my properties from highly motivated sellers (trustees of deceased estates or bankruptcies, liquidators, vacant houses, mortgages in possession, trustee sales, foreclosures, etc.).

If someone does not want their property they are much more likely to be flexible on their price or terms to dispose of it. You are entering the market on Wholesale Price and/or Wholesale Terms which will allow you to easily determine your Profit at Purchase.

In any market, no matter how good, somewhere between 2-5% of sellers are highly motivated to sell.

Rule 11 – Cash Flow

Although I often acquire properties solely to turn them around for a capital gain, I prefer to make as much of my profit as I can in the form of Cash Flow. Note that I NEVER negatively gear a property.

Rule 12 – Define the Investment

When it comes to Real Estate I prefer to invest in single family homes that meet my criteria or definition that I have very clearly laid out:

• Priced 20% or more below the median;
• 3 bed/ 1½+ bath (1000-1500 sq.ft. /100-160 sq.m.) (or whatever is customary and usual in your area);
• Covered Parking;
• Fenced Yard;
• Livable Condition;
• Acceptable Neighborhood;

Rule 13 – No Emotions

When I invest all I care about is the Return on Investment after taxes. The only thing that matters is the Bottom Line. I don’t care what color the carpet is or about the pretty garden. Just give me the numbers. When it comes to investing, the numbers are the most important thing. Emotions play a very small part. I always tell students who are calling for assistance “Don’t tell me about the house. Tell me about the numbers.” “So be like the professionals. Don’t get emotionally involved. Get Rich instead. Remember the key to investing is focusing on “Them Money and The Numbers”.

Rule 14 – Ride the Winners and Cut the Losers

I have found that most people do the exact opposite. They often do this because of the recommendations of their “Professional” advisors. This happens because stockbrokers are trained to tell you to “sell” when you make a small profit.

The bottom line being, the broker wants to make more commission when you sell and then reinvest (over and over and over). How often have you or someone you knew, sold an investment for a respectable profit only to see the investment continue to go through the roof? How often have you held on to an investment despite the fact that it was a “Dog”, hoping that some day it would come back? Tom investors “Ride the Winners and Cut the Losers”. They do this primarily through strict money management and tight control over their own investment psychology. You should do the same.

Rule 15 – Invest Long Term

Most people look at far too short a time frame in regard to their investments. They spend much time chopping and changing, running around looking for the next “Get Rich Quick” scheme or hot investment. The reality is that there are very few surefire and rapid-fire roads to Riches. Rather, the majority of Get Rich investments take time to bring home large returns.

When I invest, I primarily do so for the long term. I am not interested in “spending” assets after short or mid-term gains. I am looking towards my longer-term goals of wealth-building and stewardship of my assets. Most of the best investments carry with them the power of compounding and Lag and are not designed to be readily capitalized upon over the short term.

When you assess an investment, be clear on your goals and your Timeframe. Do not ignore an investment simply because you believe its benefits are not instantaneous. Check the numbers and understand the power of money invested over time. Building wealth takes time. Invest for the long term.

Rule 16 – Open Mind to Adapt My Rules

Always be prepared, based upon your Market Research, to adapt YOUR RULES to a changing market to your own best advantage. Many investors fail dramatically due to dogged determination to stick to timeworn, but inflexible investment techniques or attitudes.

You must always keep an open mind in relation to the expectations and changes of your market.

Rule 17 – Continuing Education

Keep current on your Market Research at all times and practice your skills of Lateral Thinking to keep up with or anticipate the changes. I am constantly attending seminars, reading and learning. Throughout the world I seek out the best teachers and information I can find. I then pay to attend their seminars as a student to learn what they have to teach.

I strive to continually learn more to improve myself, my relationships, my psychology, my business and my investing. I accomplish this by attending seminars, listening to tapes, watching videos and reading. Education is an ongoing process and I strongly encourage you to continue your learning.

Winning the Investing Game

I recommend that you take a good look at how your Principles and Rules compare with top investors. Emphasis those things you are doing right and learn from those things that you need to change. I know that if you apply the Generalized Principles and follow YOUR RULES that you will WIN the “Money Game” and achieve financial freedom from home!

Most people are fearful that they might only get burned with their financial planning. The best thing to start with financial planning is to come prepared and research as much as possible. By determining what you need at the very beginning, you will have a direction to follow and lead your financial planner rather than him leading you. What is financial planning then? It is by all means a form of planning which is personally customized and successfully meets your needs. It is founded on your preferences helping you reach your financial goals in the long run. Clearly, one of the main requirements of a financial plan is that you fully understand your own needs. This is because if the needs are already clear, your implementation will be much guided. Finding the right financial planning can only be proven with a full assessment of your finances. Usually, before beginning a plan, you are already pre-assessed with your financial situation. After a certain time following the plan, you are consulted and an overall assessment of your financial status will be gauged. This will be compared to your pre-financial plan status. If you see some improvement with your financial life, you are on track. Remember though that most financial planner will not assess you if they had already predicted a negative result. Only the most objective ones do this and if your planner is willing to give you one, then, you are probably very lucky to stumble upon a very objective financial planner. That is probably the reason behind that you must only have the best man behind your the planning. Almost anybody can call themselves a financial planner and that’s pretty crazy. Be on the lookout for someone who has the education, experience with the vital skills to work for your success. Be very wary with finding the one. Other professionals might call themselves a planner. But they may only be knowledgeable in a narrow range of products and this might lead to recommending you products that are not securities. Your best bet with your search is to only take into account professionals who are a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). Get the best leads on reputable advisors from your network of family, friends, and colleagues. A CFP will prepare your financial plans. He or she assesses your savings, investments, insurance, taxes, retirement, and estate planning. By assessing all the aspects of your financial life, a planner will help you advance a detailed strategy to meet all your financial goals.

With the stock market roiling around these days, issues still remain about the nation’s financial services organizations. In addition, the financial reform bill continues to wend its way through Congress and how it all turns out remains a question.

Where do things stand from a credibility standpoint? Are we ready to trust our financial institutions again? Heartening to those of us in public relations, particularly those of us engaged in financial services relations, is the fact that we understand how to build and sustain beneficial and trustful relationships. Now, we just have to convince financial service providers that it is the right thing to do…

Many financial firms have pared back their budgets for financial services relations as a result of economic conditions. They couldn’t have picked a worse time. Now is precisely the time such organizations need to increase their financial services relations budgets to 1) restore credibility; and 2) acquire customers. The second point is critical… There are probably many customers who have become disaffected with their existing firms and are looking for new relationships as old loyalties have been dissipated by the financial scandals. An increase in budgets for financial services relations may be worthwhile given the opportunity to attract some of these “shoppers.”

Studies have demonstrated over the years that companies who increase their marketing budgets during times of economic stress emerge even stronger when conditions improve. Most likely the opposite is also true in that those companies who decrease their budgets have more ground to make up and suffer a loss of standing within the eyes of their customers.

We believe that firms are coming to grips with the fact that they need to do something to stay in the game. We are beginning to see financial services organizations increase their commitments to Financial Services Relations.

Monterey is one of the most growth oriented towns in California and with the increasing needs of the population there is a constant need for Monterey Financial Services. There are a lot of options available these days but while you get a lot of choice you also have to beware of the Monterey financial services rip off cases. There are certain things that you can do in order to ensure that you can get a reliable service provider and also be sure that you are not falling for something that can cause problems in the future.

To begin with you can ask your friends or family for good reference in case they have any such company or institution they know. This is something that might work well because if a Monterey financial services company has been good with them there are good chances that you will not get a raw deal either. Also you can get details of the loan or financial help that the friend or family member had taken, this will ensure that you can compare the deals to make a choice. With such an arrangement you reduce the chances of a Monterey financial service rip off occurring with your.

In case the above point is not possible then you need to look an alternate method to find a good financial services company. One good method is to look for stuff on the Internet. Since most of the people are hooked onto the Internet, good companies also spend a reasonable amount on Internet marketing to attract new customers. You can search for Monterey financial services on Google or any other search engines and find a company that is listed out there. With the search you’ll be able to get a decent amount of companies’ list. You can choose the one that is at the top page or result because that would mean that the company has a good standing for the search engines. This would prevent any kind of Monterey Financial Services Rip Off chances which are a concern for you.

Just make sure that you are dealing with a good company so that you do not have to face problems in the future. The right choice today will mean that you’ll have good financial services for a long time to come. Though it might take some time, make sure that you can have the right company chosen.