Well for one, I didn’t learn about money until I was older. Starting late means finishing late, kind of obvious right? That doesn’t mean im not on my way there does it?

Another much more important question though, is one I will pose to you instead.

What does it mean to be rich?

Take a minute to think about it. I’m sure the majority of people won’t think about it at all, they just yell out some obscene amount of money and think they are smart. They ain’t. Money is not now, nor has it ever been the defining factor in being rich. Think I’m wrong? That means you have no idea what money is or how it works.

OK smarty pants. You win the lottery tomorrow and make millions on a lump sum payment. You think you’ll be set for life and you will invest wisely and all is good and right with the world.    Good luck my man, you’ll need it.  A ludicrous amount of lotto winners go broke after they win.

As another example I have but three words. M. C. Hammer.

It’s called lifestyle inflation. When people get more money they find more ways to spend it. You buy a nicer house, nicer car more attractive spouse etc..  Guess what genius, all of those nicer things you bought, have much bigger costs associated with them. The house costs more in taxes, more to heat and more to fill with stuff. The car as well as the house now have a much bigger Insurance bill. Think you can buy a Ferrari and NOT get a speeding ticket or 10?  Then you have to account for your free time. You have plenty of time AND money, that means all the things you never got to do (because they were cost prohibitive) are a daily option to fill your long and empty days. Starting to get it?

So, how do I define being Rich?

It’s a very tricky and complicated question for being so small. To me being Rich is more about happiness. Its freedom. And in my personal case it’s never having to work again. Notice I said not having to work and not not working, big difference.

Let’s compare two made up people and see how we feel about this.

Paul makes  $80,000 a year working six ten hour days a week or 60 hours. He has a nice house that costs him 3k a month in mortgage, taxes and insurance costs (36k /yr).  His new Porsche costs him $450 a month and another $400 for insurance . That’s $950 /mo(11.4k/yr).  Working as much as he does, he needs and deserves to have fun. Going to the club once a week runs him $200 a month (2.4k/yr). Lunch at work is 7 bucks a day times 6 days or $42 a week(2.1k/yr).  His Cable package with the movie channels and internet speed booster runs him $200 / mo(2.4k/yr). Estimated costs for credit card debts included as an average well add 3k/yr.

Not counting the unexpected costs like emergencies, gifts, trips and dozens of other expenses we all go through, his lifestyle costs him $57,300 per year on average. His income is $80,000, so its all good? Hardly. He sits at a taxable rate of 25%, so he only takes home $60,000/yr. Now you see why the other debts are there, all the things he didn’t and couldn’t account for get charged when he runs out of cash. He builds debt a little faster than income and over time gets screwed.

That right there is a typical income earner in the United states.

Ramon Earns $40,000 per year working his own business for  five four hour days or 20 hours per week.  He lives in a small house with a smaller mortgage because he saved a made a larger down payment. With all included he spends $1500/mo(18k/yr). His reliable Mazda that he purchased 2 years USED has no monthly payment and a low insurance cost of $150/mo (1.8k/yr). Ramon likes fun as well. He buys a bottle of wine and watches Netflix with friends at home each week at a cost of  $35/mo (420./yr).  He packs lunch for his 5 shifts a week and it costs an extra $15/wk in groceries (720./yr). He has basic cable only and a base internet package which runs $100/mo (1.2k/yr). He has no credit card payments, because he pays everything with cash or doesn’t buy it at all.

Ramons yearly expenses, with the same assumptions as Paul in place are $22,140. His income after taxes at the same tax rate is $30,000 leaving a difference of over $7,000, of which he invests $4,000 a year and earns a larger income over longer periods of time.

Before taxes are removed from their pay, Paul makes (80k/3000hrs=)$26.66 / hr at work.   Ramon on the other hand makes(40k/1000hrs=)$40.00 per hour. Paul has very little money at the end of each week and has to continue to increase his output at work,  extra hours, more projects, maybe a second job at some point. Ramon on the other hand, works less, is better compensated for his time and has money left over to invest and further secure his future.

Who would you consider richer? I’d rather be Ramon right about now. Which brings me to my real point. To be rich, you have to be smart with your money. You have to make better decisions than Paul and think about your future self having to pay for your financial weakness and stupidity. Financial IQ, a concept put forth by Robert Kiyosaki, is more important than anything else you can ever improve.

If you want to be rich, you have to learn. You have to sacrifice. You have to work hard. You have to live like no one else. Do you want to work way too long and hard for a silly amount of money? Or would you rather adjust your lifestyle, increase your worth and spend more time with family and friends?

Take some time now and think it out, I ask you again,  What does it mean to be Rich?    No, really……. and post it below.

Go do something now.

In Whole life insurance, you pay a “fixed premium” for a “fixed coverage” amount. Both of these numbers are supposed to never change as long as the policy stays in effect. The costs of these policies on average can be up to 10 times that of Term policies of the same face value.

One reason for this is expense is that these policies are not just life insurance, but also act as an investment vehicle. A portion of your premiums each month go to investment accounts that the company sets up to earn income. A portion of the income is credited to them and a portion to the “cash value” of your account. Regardless of your age when you purchase, the cash value should be equal to the face value of your policy if you reach 100 years of age. That is one of the factors that determine your premiums to begin with.

Another reason for the higher cost is the length of your life. This insurance will be in force until you die, or reach 100 years of age. As you get older, you are more likely to die and hence the cost to cover you goes up for the company. Whole life generally overcharges you about 30% when you sign up so that as you age, the cost of your ever increasing risk is still covered.  So, your costs don’t go up and they keep a healthy profit margin, win – win.

It is highly suggested by every non- insurance industry professional and even some of those to, that it is a bad idea to use whole life insurance as an investment vehicle alone. If you do not need the face value of the policy, you should not purchase this product.

For more on this topic I suggest reading this article from Smart Money magazine, or for a more concise version you can ask Financial “guru” Dave Ramsey.

-Jared

Companies offer a variety of “Terms” meaning length of time. These can be be anything they want but typically fall in 10 – 20 – or 30 year lengths.

You then have your premium, which is based on your age and health at time of purchase.

So what you end up with is something like I purchased a few years ago. For $125 per year paid annually, I have $300,000 of coverage. It’s an all or none gamble. If I die in the 10 years the policy in is force, my wife gets the payout. If I live the full ten years then I get nothing and my payments to them stop. At that point I can buy a new policy under whatever terms are available.

Term policies are almost always convertable, this means that at any point during the term you can call your agent and ask them to turn your policy into a Whole life, Universal or Variable policy instead. Normally they will bend over backwards to do this for you, as they make a whole lot more money that way.

Term is a great option for anyone. It’s cheap, easy to understand and has no strings attached as the permanent life options do. If you are buying a home or having a child it’s a fast and easy way to protect them at little cost.

I suggest Term life to anyone who asks about insurance. The main reasons are the cost to value analysis and the investment options. If you can afford a product costing ten times more (whole life) why would you not just invest the extra in something that was built for that purpose?

-Jared

Here’s how the credit card companies work. If you are a freshman you will undoubtedly be a target so pay attention.

Every year the college campuses are canvased from Dorm to quad with those fold out party tables, you know the ones, those long fake wood finish ones you’ve played beer pong on for years now. On them are  credit card applications and “free gifts” just for filling them out! no sir, you don’t even have to be approved and we will give you this frisby or if you prefer an energy sports drink!

You walk through campus and feel like an adult for the first time in a long time. You did it man, you’re there and now you are an adult. No parents, no rules. Some hot blonde walks up to you and asks for a moment of your time. With chin on floor you drool as she explains the program to your now vacant mind.They play off what you’re feeling, cause let me tell you that you feel the same way everyone else did their freshman year and she knows it. <That’s called taking advantage > So you fill out out this short form, take your plastic disc and go on your way. Dude, she was so  into me.

Then it comes. Your first credit card. A little plastic ticket to the world. Your parents always told you “you need to use credit to build credit”, and so you do. You figure that a few red bulls or a new Laptop will help your education, so you make a few purchases $5 for a latte, $30 to fill your I pod…oh crap…latte stain on the jeans, well I needed a new pair anyhow.

8 weeks later you get the bill and have an aufully hard time figureing out how you spent $600 in a month when you swore you would only use it for emergencies and then “pay it right off”.  Well,you don’t have $600 to send them and the minimum payment is only $35……cool I’ll send the$35 now and pay it back in the next month or two.

You been scammed sucka.

Here is the truth behind credit. You don’t NEED it. It is in fact a usefull tool and no matter what I say you are going to sign up for a card, that’s just how it is. So take these precautions when you do:

1- Leave it at home. Why? If you don’t bring it with you unless you need it for a specific reason like say to pay your tuition, buy a school book or make a payment that REQUIRES you to use it, you don’t let those $5 purchases add up. You got into college, I’m pretty sure you can scrape up $5 for a coffee.

2- Register your card online. Why? You can go to the website on the back of the card and sign up. This will let you pay your bill online in case you forget to mail it out. Which you will.

3- Leave your check book with your card. Why? Stop asking questions and let me explain! When you use your card, immediatly write a check for that amount and send it out. This way your card is always paid on time, no late fees, no negative credit reports. If you pay online, keep it by your computer and do the same thing.

4- Understand interest. It does’nt seem like much, but it adds up very quickly and can multiply overnight. You take an average of 70 years to pay off each purchase if you make minumum payments and overpay by thousands of times! Do you want to pay $2300.00 for a doughnut? Did’nt think so.

5- Learn about finance. This should really be #1 on the list. If your school offers courses, take them. If not, use the internet and read up. If not, have fun with your cash while it’s there, cause it won’t be for long.

For a better education on money start at the begining.