Posts Tagged ‘financial security’

Your Financial Goals

Sunday, February 14th, 2010

In Jamie McIntyre’s book What I Didn’t Learn in School But Wish I Had, he breaks down the steps for you to establish what you will need to be financially secure, independant or free.

How much will it take for you to be financially free?

Congratulations if you know the answer to this question, most people don’t.

Doing the following excercises will help you figure out how much money you need to reach financial security, independance or freedom in your life.

A. How much will it take?

(Guess a figure that you think will mean financial freedom in your life – write down the first figure that comes to mind)

$_______________________

B. How long will it take to achieve?

(For now have a guess and write it down)

A._______________________

MAKING YOUR PERSONAL FINANCIAL DREAMS A REALITY

Everyone has the right to pursue his or her financial dreams. To turn those dreams into reality, we must identify precisely what they are. Following you will see five levels of financial well-being that are possible to attain. Use the list to clarify what dreams are most important for you to achieve in your lifetime.

A thought to remember : Clarity equals Power!

  1. Financial Protection
  2. Financial Security
  3. Financial Independance
  4. Financial Freedom
  5. Absolute Financial Freedom

Now we are going to define each level precisely so you can see an achievable goal and whats required to attain it.

The first thing to define is what you want financially-

Make some headings in your goal book better still give each a page

  • Goals    -    Set some time frames
  • Short Term 6 – 36 months
  • Intermediate 3-10 years
  • Long Term 10+ years

Next write (use pictures as well) under each heading what you want and place it in the time frame you think it will take to achieve

Toys and rewards – Things you want to own

  • House
  • Car
  • Art
  • Yacht
  • Jewels

Things you want to give or experience (for yourself or others)

  • Travel
  • Philanthropy
  • Buy a house for your parents or children

Economic goals

  • Reduction of debt
  • Cash in hand
  • Net worth
  • Annual Income from investments
  • New business profitability

1. Financial Protection

The precise amount of money you will require in liquid assets to be financially protected can be established by reviewing your current monthly expenses. What does it take for you to keep things together?

For example

  • Mortgage payment
  • Utilities
  • Transport
  • Food
  • Insurance
  • Private Superannuation

This does not include credit card or other debts just your basic survival expenses. Arrive at a figure then decide to save for six months financial protection. So this means you commit to setting aside enough money to cover six months of necessary expenses if you can’t earn any money.

2. Financial Security

Financial security is achieved when your investments produce an income equal to your financial protection figure (basic necessities). So your basic expenses are covered by the income produced by your investments.

3. Financial Independance

This means how much money you need to be independant from having to work. In other words duplicate your current income. Your investments need to generate at least the same amount of money as you are currently earning from your job. If however you earn enough to save and you don’t spend your entire income than what you need to earn to maintain your lifestyle would be less.

4. Financial Freedom

This goal is attained when you are earning more money than you require to live and you are able to maintain that income for the rest of your life.

5. Absolute Financial Freedom

This is when your investment income provides you with enough money to do whatever you want, when ever you want without having to work again.

Obviously you need a plan in place, and the sooner you start the more chance you have of obtaining it. You can achieve these levels through investing in business, property or shares  having a mixture of these investments is wise. Educating yourself on how to achieve these levels is essential without the knowledge you would find it difficult to get beyond the first or second levels.

Ask yourself the following…

  1. Which of your dreams is really important for you to turn into reality?
  2. By what age must you accomplish it?
  3. Write down the amount you guessed you will need to be financially secure?
  4. Write down the amount you calculated you need to be financially secure? ( is this figure higher or lower than what you guessed, for most peolpe it’s lower)
  5. Where are you today?

Have an Inspiring Day

Teresa and the Team at

AustraliaWealth.com.au


Guide to Investing ~ Robert Kiyosaki, part 2

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

Today we will look at Investor Lesson’s five to twelve as they where taught to Robert Kiyosaki by his rich dad to mentally prepare him on his road to wealth accumulation. As you go through these lesson’s I hope you will realise the importance of your thoughts and beliefs, your mental state in creating your financial state.

Investor Lesson 5 ~ Are You Planning to Be Rich or Are You Planning to Be Poor? – It’s all about the words you choose to say and how you think. To test this out listen to how the people you come in contact with talk. What you say outloud is important but even more important is what you say silently to yourself this is where the most power in creating your world lies. Increase your wealth vocabulary, learn the language of the wealthy and use that language to change your reality.

Investor Lesson 6 ~ Getting Rich is Automatic…If You Have a Good Plan and Stick to It – According to rich dad investing is simple and often boring and this is why so many people are unsuccessful, they want the more exciting, high thrill hollywood version. Investing is a plan, a strategy for financial freedom and it can be extremely simple. So come up with a simple plan, that suits you, to achieve what you want and stick to it.

Investor Lesson 7 ~ How Can You Find The Plan That Is Right For You – Taking your time to think about your life and what you want from it is the first steps to figuring out your plan.It’s a good idea not to tell anyone your plan too soon, make sure it’s what you really want first, so you can’t be swayed to change your mind by the good intentions of family and friends. Find a financial planner you are happy with to help you work out your strategy, set realistic goals that grow and change with your experience and education. Be prepared to use a team of experienced professionals, accountants, bankers, insurance agents, successful mentors, broker etc. you will need this team to help you achieve your financial goals.

Investor Lesson 8 ~ Decide Now What You Want to Be When You Grow Up – Do you want to be secure, comfortable or rich? The truth is you need to be all three. Most people only achieve security and maybe comfort because that’s all they plan for. If you want to be rich you have to plan for all three.

Investor Lesson 9 ~ Each Plan Has A Price -What is the difference between been secure, been comfortable and been rich? The difference is price, the difference between a plan to be rich compared to the others is vast. At first glance it appears price is measured in money but it is actually measured in time, a more precious asset. Most people are not willing to invest the time, they wish to get rich quick and are in such a hurry to make money they lose both time and money. Are you willing to invest the time ?

Investor Lesson 10 ~ Why Investing Isn’t Risky – Anyone who has ever said investing IS risky has either not been trained to be an investor, lacks control or is out of control as an investor or is someone who invest from the outside then the inside. To be rich, you have to be closer to the inside than the professional to whom most people entrust their money.

Investor Lesson 11 ~ On Which Side Of The Table Do You Want To Sit? – The poor man says work hard and save money, the rich man says working hard and saving money are important if you want to be secure and comfortable. The government taxes people when they save, when they spend and when they die. If you want to be rich you will need greater financial sophistication than merely working hard and saving money. When a person shifts to the other side, their point of view of the world also shifts.

Investor Lesson 12 ~ The Basic Rules Of Investing – Investing is comprised of seven rules. The first basic rule of investing is to know what income you are for, either earned (work, job etc.), portfolio (stocks, bonds, mutual funds etc.) or passive (real estate,patent royalties, license agreements etc.). The second basic rule of investing is to turn your earned income into portfolio income or passive income as efficiently as possible. The third rule of investing is to keep your earned income secure by purchasing by purchasing a security you hope converts your earned income into passive and portfolio income. Many investors cannot distinguish between a security and an asset. Securities are bound up tight by government regulations, this is why the organisation that watches over the world of investing is called the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the title isn’t the Assets and Exchange Commission. Fourth basic rule of investing is, it is the investor that is really the asset or the liability. Fifth basic rule of investing is, a true investor is prepared for whatever happens. A non-investor tries to predict what and when things will happen. Basic rule number six is, if you are prepared (educated and experienced) and you find a good deal, the money will find you or you will find the money. In reality, in the world of investing, regardless of if it is real estate, business, or paper assets, the key is always people, people people. The best real estate in the best location lose money because the wrong people were in charge. Lastly basic rule number seven, It is the ability to to evaluate risk and reward. An investment which brings more risk then reward is not a financially good investment.

Have an Incredible Day

Teresa and the Team at

AustraliaWealth.com.au

Reading your Financial Newspaper

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

More and more Australians are looking towards the share market for wealth creation and financial security, understanding how to read  financial reports is an important strategy to learn. Most newspapers and now also on the internet you will see information relating to the share market set out in  a table of columns, understanding what you see will help you with your company research and put you on the way to making sound financial decisions..

Following are some typical headings and what they represent.

52 Week High and Low

This is the indicator of the highest and lowest a share has reached in the past 52 weeks. When you are told that the share is at it’s high or low for the year, you need to make sure that it is for the 52 weeks or if the year has just started and you are only getting an indication of a few months.

As most newspapers do not allow for any bonus share or additional share issues the prices may not be a true high or low.

Company Name

The name of the company is given without saying what the company is involved in, some magazines such as Shares Magazine will sometimes provide descriptions, but in  order to understand the companies better, information can be obtained through www.asx.com.au.

ASX code

This column is the abbreviation used by ASX for each company listed in the market eg. Westpac Bank is identified by WBC.

Last Sale

This column is the last price that the share was bought or sold for on a particular date.

+ or -

This column shows the movement of a share, if it has gone up or down compared with the previous trading day.

Buy

The buy quote or column is the indication of how much a buyer is willing to pay for a certain stock, but is not an indication of how many stocks they want to buy. This is the price at the end of the previous trading day.

Sell

The sell quote or column is an indication of what the sellers are willing to sell the shares for but is not an indication of how many stocks they want to sell. This is the price at the end of the previous day.

Dividend Cover

This is a measure of how many time’s a company’s dividends are covered by the profit’s of the company per share. This is abbreviated by ‘turns cov’.If this ‘turn’s cov’, is less than 1 the company is paying more in dividends than profits. In this case the company is using it’s profits from previous years to pay a dividend and may not be able to sustain this.

If the figure is 2.5 it has the power to increase its dividend payouts. When looking at a company you should look at a cover of 2 or above for dividend earnings.

Note Most growing companies pay low dividends to grow their companies faster. There is a direct relation between dividends and the day to day runnings and goals of a company.

Have an exceptional day

Teresa and the Team at

AustraliaWealth.com.au