Tag Archives: Attitude

Things to Consider When Saving, Investing and Building Wealth

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Saving for the future, investing to grow your money and building wealth has little to do with the economic cycle, the stock market valuation or even how much money you earn.

It’s your mindset that can hinder your financial outcome and keep you trapped at an unsatisfying level of financial success. And, unless you can embrace a positive financial mindset, your ability to save, invest and build wealth will be hindered for the rest of your financial life.

The process of investing and wealth-building can be improved by a adhering to the following tips to set yourself up for potential financial success and freedom:

1. Start Early

It’s important to invest a percentage of your salary each month. And, starting early could be a way to dramatically increase your savings over time. The good thing about starting early is you can get the benefits of compound interest!

2. Set Investment Goals

Are you saving up to buy a house? Or putting money away for retirement? Investing with a purpose will help you determine the right strategy and keep you on track to pursue your financial goals. Determine your financial freedom number.

3. Know Your Time Horizon

If you think you’ll need the money within the next five years, you might consider less volatile investments, like fixed income securities. Investing for the long-term (think: 15 or more years)?  You might think about adopting a less conservative strategy.

4. Assess Your Risk Level

Knowing how much risk you’re willing to take on will help you narrow down your investment choices and keep you from letting your emotions guide your investing during periods of high market volatility.

5. Analyze Your Budget

Take your monthly income and take a list of your monthly expenses and create a budget (for instance, the popular 50/30/20 budget). By looking at your spending, you may discover extra money to invest each month.

6. Know Your Investment Choices

Familiarize yourself with different investment types to see what makes sense for you. Are you interested in international stocks and ETFs (exchange-traded funds)? Maybe bonds and mutual funds?

7. Go It Alone or Use an Advisor

If you’re the independent type, you may be drawn to Self-Directed Trading. Or if you prefer an advisor or to automate your investments with a Robo Portfolio.

8. Consider Avoiding Individual Stocks and Bonds; Invest in Market Index Funds

If you’re still learning the ropes, you might be more comfortable sticking to broader based investments like index funds and ETFs. These types of investments require less of your time and are less risky since they invest in numerous companies. As an alternative, an market index fund is an investment that tracks a market index, typically made up of stocks, like the S&P 500, or bonds. Index funds typically invest in all the components that are included in the index they track,

9. Diversify Your Portfolio

If all your investments are your company’s stock, and they go out of business, you’ll wish you had a diversified portfolio. You may reduce your risk by holding a variety of securities that react differently to market changes.

10. Think Long-term

History shows whenever the market takes a dip due to volatility, it eventually bounces back. Be patient and disciplined: Give your money time, make consistent contributions and wait out inevitable market downturns.

11. Don’t Forget High Interest Debt

School loans or credit card debt can make allocating money to investments a tough choice. It’s possible to reduce your debt and invest, and we can help you accomplish both.

12. Get Your Match

Many employers offer a 401(k) match, which can be a great incentive to invest for retirement, helping you to potentially build tax deferred savings.

13. Save and Invest for Retirement

When you’re young, retirement seems like eons away — but for many, regardless of age, now is the best time to start saving for your golden years. You may consider looking into Traditional and Roth IRAs to get started. The typical retirement strategy is built on the pillars of your pension, 401(k) plan, your Traditional IRA, and taxable savings.

14. Automate Your Contributions and Pay Yourself First

Pay yourself first instead of saving what remains after monthly expenses. Set up recurring investments to take advantage of dollar cost averaging. With this strategy, instead of trying to time the market, you invest the same amount each month — sometimes you might buy high, but other times, you’ll purchase low.

15. Beware of Fads

Just because everyone is jumping on the latest meme stock or investing app doesn’t mean you should. Fad stocks are often unpredictable, so if this doesn’t align with your investment strategy, feel confident to sit them out.

16. Be Informed

A prospectus sheet details the performance of a company to help you understand its stock performance. And digital tools can help you track your investments, too. If you cannot dedicate time to read and research, invest in a market index fund which is one of the easiest and most effective ways for investors to build wealth.

17. Don’t Neglect Your Emergency (or Peace of Mind) Fund

Investing grows your money and helps build long-term financial freedom, but you need to be prepared for short-term unexpected expenses. So when setting out on your own, don’t forget to start setting aside funds in an emergency (or peace of mind) fund. This money should be liquid (not invested in securities), so you can access it for unexpected expenses.

18. Watch Out for Fees

Some brokers will charge a commission fee whenever you buy or sell stocks, which add up and make a dent in your overall returns. Trade U.S. stocks and ETFs commission-free with our Self-Directed Trading.

19. Ask for Help

Investing can get complicated. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a financial advisor for advice and support.

20. Adjust as You Go

As life circumstances change, it might make sense to move your money into different types of investment accounts or change up how much you contribute. Any time your financial circumstances change, remember to reassess your financial goals, plan and investments.

21. Create and Follow a Financial Plan

Every living adult needs to financially plan. A financial plan is a comprehensive overview of your financial goals, net worth, cash flow, debt, taxes, risk tolerance, time horizon and it provides the steps you need to take to achieve and manage them.

22. Investing has risks.

No one knows exactly what will happen in the future and investments could lose money, so be aware of how much you are able to invest and be comfortable leaving it there for a period of time since it may have ups and downs.

23. A Wealthy (or Positive Financial) Mindset

It’s imperative that you refocus your mindset and change how you think about yourself, your finances, and the world around you. If you keep thinking about things the same way, you’re going to get the same results. Change in the world around you doesn’t happen until you change yourself. Embrace and grow your positive financial mindset about money, wealth and financial freedom.

Getting Started

Getting started is often the hardest step for most new investor to take, but starting to invest today is advice worth implementing! “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago; the second best time is today.” And, what’s true for a tree is also true for growing your money.

References:

  1. https://www.ally.com/do-it-right/investing/things-to-know-when-investing-in-your-20s/
  2. https://www.harveker.com/blog/11-principles-infographic-financial-freedom/

Knowing Your Why: Financial Freedom

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WHY is the purpose, the cause, or the belief that drives every organization and every person’s individual career.

“Knowing Your Why” is the single most important thing you can do to energize your journey towards being a better you and to achieve a better financial future for you and your family. Why is all about your purpose. Why do you get out of bed in the morning? And why should anyone care?

Simon Sinek, author of the book Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Finding Purpose for You and Your Team, writes that it is only when you understand your “why” (or your purpose) that you’ll be more capable of pursuing the things that give you fulfillment. It will serve as your point of reference for all your actions and decisions from this moment on, allowing you to measure your progress and know when you have met your life and financial goals.

When you’ve identified your life’s purpose, it’s easier to focus on what truly matters. To stay focused on your goals, they must be important to you. Your subconscious can try to trick you into believing that you want one thing, when in reality these things do very little to help you live out your purpose.

Understanding why you’re doing what you’re doing is the single most important question you can ask with respect to your life and financial well-being. Failure to ask and answer that question can be the single greatest oversight you can make when it comes to saving and investing. Those who do have a strong sense of why they are investing are more successful financially.

Understanding why you’re doing what you’re doing in the first place is critical. Your why serves as your compass to stay on course or your North Star in the often hectic day-to-day grind that can derail you from reaching your goals. It’s so easy to get caught up in the minutiae of chasing fads, hot stocks or following the investing herd that you forget what you’re trying to really accomplish in the first place.

Saving and investing with a purpose

Saving and investing without a purpose will leave you filling empty. Saving and investing should be a means to an end…financial freedom . If money is the end, it will likely create more problems than it solves. Thus, knowing your why for saving and investing is an essential first step.

But, what is financial freedom? Financial freedom is about much more than just having money, writes Robert Kiyosaki. It’s the freedom to be who you really are and do what you really want in life. It’s about following your passion, making choices that aren’t influenced by your bank account, and living life on your terms.

Beyond serving to tell you what financial goals you should be pursuing in the first place, knowing why you’re saving for the future, and investing to grow your money and to build wealth serves two important purposes:

  • It motivates you, and
  • It orients you.

To find your personal “Why” in life, you really have to dig deep down into your conscious mind. You must ask yourself several pertinent questions such as:

  • Why do I work every day?
  • What do I value most?
  • What do I want to do with my life?
  • What is my purpose and goals in life?
  • Why do I want to have a positive influence in my community and on the world?

“He who has a why can endure any how.”  Frederick Nietzsche

Sinek and his team provide a simple format to use to draft your WHY Statement:

“TO ____ SO THAT ____.”

The first blank represents your contribution — the contribution you make to the lives others through your WHY. And the second blank represents the impact of your contribution.

“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.” Maya Angelou

The key to harnessing your passion and to live a life of contentment is understanding your “why.” Why are you passionate about saving for the future and investing to grow your money and building wealth? Is it because you desire financial freedom and have a new lease on life?

What if we awoke every single day knowing your why? For no better reason than to be better than yourself and to achieve financial freedom in order to leave our family and our community in a better condition than we found it?

References:

  1. https://engineeringmanagementinstitute.org/knowing-your-why/
  2. https://www.deanbokhari.com/find-your-why/
  3. https://www.developgoodhabits.com/your-why/
  4. https://www.richdad.com/what-is-financial-freedom
  5. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/243737
  6. https://www.jordanharbinger.com/simon-sinek-whats-your-why-and-where-do-you-find-it/

The Man in the Arena — Daring Greatly

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On April 23, 1910, Theodore Roosevelt gave what would become one of the most widely quoted speeches of his career. In Paris at the Sorbonne, Roosevelt delivered a speech called “Citizenship in a Republic,” which would come to be known as “The Man in the Arena.”


“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt, Twenty-Sixth POTUS

 

 

References:

  1. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/63389/roosevelts-man-arena

Focus and Mindset

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“Anything is possible if you have the mindset and the will and desire to do it and put the time in.” Roger Clemens

Financial mindset consists of a predetermined set of beliefs, thoughts, habits and behaviors an individual has about saving by paying yourself first, investing for the long-term and accumulating wealth for financial well-being.

Every person has a set of beliefs, thoughts, habits and behaviors about money and personal finance. Even if they can’t express what their thoughts and mindset are, they still exist subconsciously. By observing your own financial outcomes, you can begin to better understand your financial mindset, behaviors and habits.

Without a positive financial mindset, it is difficult to develop the good financial habits and behaviors that will be necessary to lead to an improved financial outcome and well-being.

A positive financial mindset means knowing that if you just hang in there long enough, things will work out financially with the correct financial habits and behaviors. Even if you partake in one positive action each day, your confidence and belief will grow, along with your wallet.

Focus and Thoughts

“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” Michael Jordan

Mindset is basically about your thoughts and a harbinger of what you focus on in the short and long term.

When you focus a thing, be it positive or negative, your mind has a tendency to heighten your attention on that thought. As a result, by focusing on one thing, such as the fear and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, you have a tendency to miss other things good and positive happening around you. Essentially, your focus becomes the filter in which you observe your world.

Focus on opportunities

“No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see the possibilities, always see them, for they’re always there.” Norman Vincent Peale

This too will pass is a common refrain worth remembering in trying times like these created by the pandemic. History and good old common sense tells us that crises always come to an end and this COVID-19 will be no different.

We can control our thoughts, mindset and where we focus our attention. Thus, it behooves us to focus our thoughts on those things we can control and to think about what we need to do now, in the short term, to survive the current storm and prepare our paths for future opportunities and better days.

It’s about doing things now, in the downtime, in order to be prepared and prime to operate in the uptime. It is about laying the groundwork for tomorrow’s long-term financial success during today’s challenging times.

By focusing on the negative and on things outside our control, we can miss the other things and opportunities happening around us.

Positive Attitude

“Our attitude toward life determines life’s attitude towards us.” John N. Mitchell

Nothing is going to change in your life unless you change a negative attitude and mindset. And, you can change your life almost immediately if you can change your attitude and mindset. Many have said that, “A bad attitude is like a flat tire. If you don’t change it, you’ll never go anywhere.”

Furthermore, John N. Mitchell said it best when he said that, “Our attitude toward life determines life’s attitude towards us.” We’ve all heard about the power of our attitude, and that it’s our attitude can determine the altitude of your success in life.

References:

  1. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-mindset-2795025
  2. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/30/why-you-should-create-a-daily-money-mindfulness-practice.html
  3. https://graciousquotes.com/norman-vincent-peale/

Healthy Aging and Lifestyle: Happiness and Gratitude

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Gratitude is the expression of appreciation for what one has.

Attitude of Gratitude and why gratitude sprouts happiness

“The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side” refers individuals who are not satisfied with their own lot in life and always assumes that there are better things in other places. This view appears to be a common human quality of always wanting something different than what you have. It assumes that your neighbor’s yard ( or circumstance) is greener (or more desirable) than yours, when, in reality, they are the same or your neighbor is actually coveting what you have.

“The grass is greener” expresses the idea that people often think a different set of circumstances would bring them greater happiness and joy in life; however, the phrase is often used in the context of reminding people that this is not usually the case. A more apt phrase is “the grass is greener where you water it., ” suggesting that good situations come from the energy you put into them, not from dreaming about them.

Developing an attitude of gratitude means that over time, gratitude can boost happiness and fosters both mental and psychological health, even among those already struggling with mental and physical health problems.

According to Psychology Today, “Gratitude is about feeling and expressing appreciation: for all we’ve received, all that we have (however little it may be), and for all that has not befallen us.” Studies show that practicing gratitude curbs the use of words expressing negative emotions and shifts inner attention away from such negative emotions as resentment and envy, minimizing the possibility of ruminating, which is a hallmark of depression.

Gratitude is a key tenet in all major philosophies and religions. That’s because gratitude is the foundation of happiness. We only have a limited amount of focus, so when you are able to be appreciative of what you have, your brain is unable to give life and energy to thoughts about what you don’t have. Seeing events in your life as gifts allow you to perceive how they may help you grow and become a better person, and the application of this attitude during tough times is the hallmark of resilience.

“Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate. So practice happy thinking every day. Cultivate the merry heart, develop the happiness habit, and life will become a continual feast.”

“Studies show that people can deliberately cultivate gratitude—and there are important social and personal benefits to doing so. It is possible to feel grateful for loved ones, colleagues, animals, nature, and life in general. The emotion generates a climate of positivity that both reaches inward and extends outward.” Norman Vincent Peale

Happiness is arguably one of the most important goals in life.

“Happiness has to do with your mindset, not with outside circumstance.” Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

“Happiness is best described as coming from between — that is if you get the right kind of relationship between yourself and other people, yourself and your work, and yourself and something larger than yourself… if you get those three relationships right … it will draw you out into the world, it will engage your passions, it will give you the kind of support that you need and want and it’ll give you a sense of meaning and purpose in life,” according to happiness expert Jonathan Haidt, the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership, based in the Business and Society Program at New York University.

“Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of its filling a vacuum, it makes one.” Benjamin Franklin

What makes a person feel happy and grateful depends on the person and the degree to which we are inclined to experience and express gratitude. It can be something as simple as a call from a friend or a pleasant evening dinner with family. Engaging in a more specific act and how we think about an act, such as volunteering your time and talent to help others, can make people feel good about themselves.

“It isn’t what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.” Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People

Tips to Foster Gratitude

  • Keep a journal of or in some way note big and little joys of daily life.
  • Write down daily “three good things”—identify three things that have gone well for you and identify the cause.
  • Write thank-you notes to others.
  • Think about people who have inspired you and what about them was most significant.
  • Engage in “mental subtraction.” Imagine what your life would be like if some positive event had not occurred.

“Gratitude is the appreciation of things that are not deserved, earned or demanded – those wonderful things that we take for granted.” – Renée Paule

Learning to be thankful and regularly expressing gratitude is an important part of personal happiness. Being thankful gives us an appreciation for what we have.

  1. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/11/nyus-jonathan-haidt-formula-for-lasting-happiness-and-purpose.html?__source=facebook%7Cmain
  2. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/some-assembly-required/201411/the-benefits-cultivating-attitude-gratitude
  3. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/gratitude