Given a Choice, What Will You Do?  Life is a bunch of choices or is it?  Smart choices depend on savings.  People without savings or access to money do not have choices.  Just in case it is not you, I am talking about the people who are at their credit card limit, live paycheck to paycheck, no savings, up to their eyeballs in debt and a lousy job that they hate. Is that bleak enough?

Who are they?

Before you think it is always someone else, think about it?  Do you love what you do?  Is your job stable?  Do you have at least six (6) months expenses in a savings account?  If you answer no to all these questions, you could be just days/week/months away from having no choices.  Do you think the people who bought houses before the real estate bubble burst thought a disaster was about to happen?

Sometimes things just happen!  Do you have the savings or a Plan B to handle it?  My recent injury makes me think of how things just happen!  I never saw it coming and I did not do anything to cause it.  How do you prepare for these kinds of things?  Thankfully I have really good medical insurance and money in my Flexible Spending Account (FSA).  What would my Plan B be if I did not have these benefits?  I have other resources besides savings since my wife is an RN.  In other words, I have access to information.

I know people who know people.  Rich people always have resources beyond money.  I do not consider myself rich, but certainly comfortable.  I always surrounded myself with other successful people and that is a great safety net.  What would you do?  Belts and suspenders are a term in finance that I embraced over the years.  It is a backup if something fails.  Savings is a backup, if you need it.  Many people who find themselves in these situations, say they have no savings because they are making minimum payments on debt and have nothing left for savings.

Solution

My first decision and priority is always savings!  It is the first thing I set up as a payroll deduction.  I adjust everything else to make that happen.  You can start small and build from there.  My first savings account started with $2.00 per week.  Start with your daily/weekly/monthly expenses and find one to give up or change.  Something as simple as giving up going out for lunch one day a week will yield $10 or more per week.  If you give up dining out once a week or change how you spend your money can help you achieve your savings goal.  What are you going to do?

Savings provide choices.  Savings is not just for retirement.  Save for a down payment for a house, car, vacation, or education is just a few of the things that give you a better life.  The earlier you start, the more money you will have.  What else can you do to save or save more?  Take the next salary increase or promotion and put it in savings.  Another is redirect your payments after you pay off debt to savings.  Time is on your side and it will grow over time tax deferred in a retirement account or in a brokerage account subject to capital gains tax rates.

Wrap Up

Savings provide choices!   Saving for retirement means you can chose to retire or continue working because you enjoy working.  Having savings for emergencies means you are not paying high interest credit card debt or other loan interest.  Saving for a down payment means you will pay a lower interest rate and have a lower monthly payment.  Savings provide a lot of choices, but it is up to you.  Given a Choice, What Will You Do?

Photo by:  Mile Licht

Carnivals:

Yakezie Carnival at Financial Success for Young Adults
Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at Thirty Six Months
Canadian Finance Carnival at Canadian Finance Blog
Carnival of Financial Planning at Aaron Hung
Carnival of Retirement at My Personal Finance Journey

Given a Choice, What Will You Do?

The 3 F’s of Success is the Sixth in a series of articles to help you reach your goal.  What are your goals?  I know you thought about it!  You know, it is your dream, wish or resolution you made!  Before you can get to where you want to be, you need to know where you are going.  You wouldn’t get on a bus, train or plane without knowing where it was going.

Background 

When I was growing up, children played outside most of the year.  Bad weather meant you played board games or cards indoors.  All the neighbor kids would get together and ride their bikes or play hide and go seek.  Children did a lot of physical activities because they enjoyed them.  Were we in better condition or just more active? There were very few fast food restaurants and I do not recall going to any of them.  Was I physically fit?  I do not know, but I slept very well from all the activity.

I was always fascinated with money from a very early age!  I think my parents having their own businesses added to my interest.  Saturdays, meant going to my mother’s store or my Dad’s business.   Whether I was interested or not, I was exposed to the business world early in my life.  I remember going on buying trips to the wholesale district in New York City and I saw my parents negotiate, make buying decisions and listened to conversations.  Some of those experiences become some of my dreams.

My parents were very busy in their businesses and never seem to have much time left for me.  This had a huge influence on me later in life.  My parents sent me to a prep school to get a good education, but I think it made it easier for them.  I remember not seeing them at many of the events..  When I became a parent, I made it a priority to see everything my children were involved in.  It gave me a close relationship that I still have today.  Doing things together made a huge impact them and me.

Fitness

We cannot separate mind and body!  Fitness success affects your mind too.  I know you have seen successful people who are not fit, but it makes more sense to have your body running in top condition.  If you do, your mind will run better too.  I think better when I feel physically fit.  What should you do?  Start moving more!  Do you just sit at a desk or in front of a computer ten (10) hours a day?  I try to work just fifty (50) minutes of every hour and move around for ten (10) minutes every hour.  As a teacher, I am moving five (5) hours a day.  Is that enough?

The other element is what you eat!  If you eat too many calories, you will gain weight!  That should not be a surprise.  What you eat determines how healthy you will become.  I try to eat healthy foods most of the time.  Things like fruits, vegetables, some protein, and whole grains.  Portion size is extremely important!  Make small changes in your diet and exercise regime.  Do the things you like and enjoy.  If you do, you will keep it up and improve your fitness and overall physical health.  My physical fitness success gives me confidence and helps me make better decisions.

Financial

What is financial success?  Can you support yourself without going into debt?  Are you spending less than what you earn?  Do you have savings for now and when you retire?  Do you have to have a certain amount of money in a retirement account to declare yourself a success?  Yes and it is different for everyone!  Some may not feel successful until they accumulated several million dollars others far less.  Let’s put this in perspective, you cannot deny yourself everything for forty (40) years so you will accumulate millions of dollars.  That would not be much fun and you will not have forty (40) more years to enjoy it.

What do you do?  Start with the goal or outcome in mind.  What are you trying to achieve, break it down and start doing it.  If you are in debt, pay it down.  Increase your savings and figure out what expenses should change to help save more.  You are in charge of your life and you can do it.  If you can make yourself physically fit, you can improve your financial self too.  Get started with small changes because over time it adds up.

Family

Family is my number one priority.  It is also my support network and a very important social relationship.  The support I get from my wife and family helped me become more successful.  Of course, I spent a lot of time and effort to make my marriage and family very successful.  I dated my wife in college and got to know her very well over three and a half years.  We talked a lot about many things including our future, money, values and what was important to us.  During that time, we went through a lot of different things that made us stronger for a lifetime together.

When we had children, she worked part time and spent the time to instill values and other things so they would be successful.  As a family, we did things together to help our children be successful.  On a daily basis, we read to them, had family dinners and spent time with them.  They kept busy in sports, visiting museums, scouting and many more activities.  They saw what we did whether it was reading or modeling other good financial behaviors.  Family success helped me in my success and in my children’s success.

Final Thoughts

This is the sixth article in the series about success; I expect to publish throughout 2012.  There will be twenty-six (26) of them, one for each letter of the alphabet.  The 3 F’s of success are fitness, financial and family.  I think everyone wants success in life; business and career; however it takes a concerted effort to reach success.  “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.” Tommy Lasorda sums it up much better than I can!

I started this series because I run into so many people who have difficulty reaching success.  They want to know my secrets!  So I thought I would share them in a format that will be most helpful.  I also think this format may make it more interesting and easier to use. My goal in these articles to provide useful and interesting information that will help you succeed.  The 3 F’s of Success is now a series.

Photo by:  mace22968

Friday Night Links Pinched Nerve Final Edition is a continuation of my previous post.  For four (4) weeks, I have been suffering with a pinched nerve.  A pinched nerve can cause pain, numbness, tingling or weakness along the path of the pinched nerve.  I experienced all of it!  In my case, I have a narrowing of the spinal canal in my neck thanks to bone spurs. 

Today is the second day of taking a (prescribed) anti-inflammatory medication and I am finally almost pain free!  I know that this may be more detail than you will really want to know, but it is my final words on my pinched nerve.  The biggest concern was long term damage to the nerve.  I asked my orthopedist if there were any activity or exercise limitations.  He said no!   Treatment is relieving the pain and allowing the nerve to heal on its own.  Part of the healing process is aerobic activity because it helps maintain circulation which helps heal the nerve.

I learned that I had some of the symptoms before I experienced pain, but ignored it.  You have to pay attention to what your body tells you.  This makes a good segue to today’s picks for Friday Night Links.

The following articles caught my attention:

The Debt Myth - Having Trouble Getting Your Souse on Board?  Start with Why

Personal Finance By The Book  - Are Extended Warranties Worth it?  It Depends.

PT Money - How to Start a Web Design Business Installing WordPress Websites

Punch Debt in The Face - It all started with a tweet.

Redeeming Riches  - 2012 Tax Tips: 4 Tips to do for a Fast Refund

Rules

The selection of blogs is up to the committee of one established by krantcents as a representative of the Academy of Frugal Journalistic Writers. That committee can be influenced by meaningful comments, signing up for my RSS feeds, backlinks, links, trackbacks, Facebook Likes, Twitter, Re-tweets, Digg, StumbleUpon, delicio, Yahoo Buzz, Google Bookmarks and other social media. If you plan on creating a single purpose political action committee (PAC) to buy advertising on my blog to solely influence the committee, please go ahead! Please understand it will not influence the results.

I read more than five hundred (500) articles a week and I highlight just five (5) in my Friday Night Links. Stay healthy and enjoy life!!   Thank you for joining me and reading Friday Night Links Pinched Nerve Final Edition.

Photo by:  Steve Snodgrass

Living within your means; four little words to live by.  I look back and think how did I get to where I am today?

I married very young the first time; I was 20. My first husband and I met when I was in college. We both worked full-time and ran a landscaping business. We owned our first home before my 21st birthday, went out to dinner almost every night, had 2 brand new cars, a boat, a motorcycle and I was miserable.

It sounds cliché but money can’t buy happiness. We worked hard and played hard and seemed to have it all but deep down those material things didn’t mean much.

Armed with a few years (ok more than a few but who is counting?) under my belt and a little financial savvy I hope to create a comfortable, affordable, and loving home with my son.

The Three C’s of Financial Contentment

I am at a different place in my life, my priorities have changed, and I realized I can be happy with much less. By understanding the three C’s of financial contentment, you can live large — regardless of the size of your budget.

Choose what matters most.

If you can’t have it all, discover what is most important to you and be creative. For example: If you like renting movies but can’t afford the $6/night rental fee-find a Redbox near you and rent the same movie for $1/ night! Enjoy going to fancy restaurants but can’t afford the $35/plate-visit restaurant.com and purchase $25 gift certificates for as little as $2.

Cherish what you have.

When your neighbor pulls up in his new Cadillac Escalade wearing Armani it is tough not to be envious, right? Look in your child’s eyes as they discover the magic of the holidays by taking a car ride around your neighborhood to see Christmas lights. Watch your child as they drift off to sleep in their warm bed. Know that these moments are worth more than that new car or fancy clothes.

Commit to a budget.

I have made creating a budget a priority. A budget lets you know where you are and makes it easier when trying to save for a major purchase like-a home, car, or appliance. Having a goal and a budget helps keep you on track.

If you are having trouble creating a budget, are looking for perspective or need tips on spending and saving; consider contacting a credit counseling service to help you get back on track.

Money Saving Tips

Following these 3 C’s will help to keep your family and finances in harmony. Here are some money-saving tips to get you started.

• Dine in instead of out. Forget going out to eat with friends. Plan a potluck party or host sandwich night (everyone brings their own sandwich) You can play board games or cards and enjoy relaxing with friends.
• Buy and sell used items online. When we moved recently we had a lot of extra stuff we no longer needed. We earned some cash and reduced clutter by selling off the extras. Need a new dining room table? Consider checking out your local Craigslist
• Exercise on a budget. Exercise is important to our family and going to the gym is entertainment. Research local gyms in your area for family discounts-make sure they have activities for the kids while you workout.

Choose, cherish, and commit, your level of financial contentment will depend on your mindset. I choose to put my family first, cherish those little moments, and create a budget our family can live with.

Struggling with debt can cause even the content to worry about their finances. By seeking debt relief you may be able to put it all back into perspective.

This is a guest post by Suzanne Cramer

Suzanne Cramer

Suzanne is a certified credit counselor for CareOne Debt Relief Services and is a Social Media Specialist. Suzanne supports our Ask the Expert forums as a coach and writes for our A Straight Talk on Debt and Divorce, Debt and Finances blogs. You can also follow Suzanne on Twitter where she shares the latest debt industry news, and tips to keep your finances in check.

Photo by:  Aunt Owwee

Carnivals:

Yakezie Carnival at 101 Centavos
Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money
Carnival of Retirement at My Retirement Blog

I love taxes which is a huge paradigm shift for me!  I used to hate taxes so much that I used the tax code to reduce my taxes to zero.  Yes, that is right, I paid zero taxes for a very long time legally!  When you invest in assets, you can depreciate them and use depreciation to reduce your taxes.  Is that the only way to reduce your taxes?  No, learn what rich people do to lower their taxes.

Do You love taxes?

Why do I love taxes?  Taxes are at the lowest rates right now and it is expected to stay that way.  Just look at what Mitt Romney or Warren Buffett paid in taxes.  Their effective tax rate was about 15%.  A rate normally used for some of the lowest earning taxpayers.  It is the rate for dividends and capital gains.  How can you pay lower taxes?  You have to change how you do things.

First, you cannot be an employee.  W-2 earnings (single, $8,500-34,500, married, $17,000-69,000) that qualify for such a low rate are modest, at best.  As a wage earner, you pay other taxes such as Social Security and Medicare too.  That’s right, you cannot be a wage earner!  Investment income is treated differently.  Investment income is treated better because it is needed to keep the economy growing.  Congress treats investment income differently because it encourages investment.  Lack of investment would dry up capital and materially affect the economy.

Hey, I want in!

How would you build a portfolio of assets that qualify for the lower capital gains tax rate?  First, you would not be able to use tax deferred accounts like 401K/302B/457 or IRAs.  Any withdrawal from these accounts in retirement is considered ordinary income.  In order to qualify for capital gains tax rates, you have to use after tax money.  Take that money and invest it in stocks, rental property, business, art, collectibles, or other assets that appreciate in value.

I spent a lot of years investing in rental property where I could leverage my investment.  I paid low interest rates on mortgages and had other people pay the mortgage.  If that was not enough, they paid enough to provide a reasonable return on investment.  When I decided to sell, I could use section 1031 of the Internal Revenue code to do a tax deferred exchange.  It allowed the exchange of certain types of property and defer the recognition of capital gains due upon sale.  To qualify the properties must be held for productive use in a trade or business or for investment.  Stocks, bonds and personal property are specifically excluded.

More ways

This is not intended to be a how to take advantage of section 1031 of the Internal Revenue tax code, however there are a variety of ways to take advantage of the tax code to build a lower tax portfolio.  How else can you build a lower tax portfolio?  Selling businesses that appreciate in value will be subject to a capital gains tax rate.  That was the business of Mitt Romney!   He bought businesses and built them up by investing capital.  He made them more efficient or reduced expenses.  Then he sold them and qualified for capital gains tax rates.  Does this take Romney or Buffett kind of money to be able to do this?

More for the average guy

You can do this on a much smaller scale and qualify.  Hedge funds do this on a large scale, but you need to have a pretty large net worth to qualify for that.  What can the average guy do?  Investing in assets has benefits!  It is what rich people do!  They like to see their money be productive and grow almost tax free or at a reduced rate.  Another way to create a portfolio of assets that qualify for capital gains tax rates is setting up brokerage accounts.  Yes, an ordinary stock brokerage account qualifies for capital gains.  You are using after tax income to make an investment and as it grows, it is taxed at capital gains tax.  You can buy stocks or mutual funds.  If you hold the stock for a year or more, it is taxed at capital gains.  Mutual funds declare dividends and capital gains quarterly/annually and you will pay your tax each year, however it is at capital gains tax rates.

The most efficient way to take advantage of capital gains is to buy assets and hold for a year or more before you sell.  These are assets that you own for a year or more, not inventory you have for sale in the normal course of business.   For many of you this is a dramatic change in how you think.  There is currently an exemption of capital gains for sale of your personal residence.  If you sell your primary residence every five (5) years as long as it was your main residence for two (2) of the last five years, you can exclude $250,000 of the gain or a maximum of $500,000 for a joint return.

Final Thoughts

This is not just for the super rich, but you have to change your thinking.  Understanding the tax code helps, but it is not difficult.  A lot of my fellow personal financial bloggers talk about building a dividend portfolio for the income.  It also qualifies for the lower capital gains tax rates.  I do not know about you, but I love to pay lower taxes.  Remember, you receive the same services whether you pay Romney/Buffett taxes or more.  It is up to you!  I love taxes particularly capital gains taxes.

Photo by:  Enter The Story

The 3 E’s of Success is the fifth in a series of articles to help you reach your goal.  What are your goals?  I know you thought about it!  You know, it is your dream, wish or resolution you made!  Before you can get to where you want to be, you need to know where you are going.  You wouldn’t get on a bus, train or plane without knowing where it was going.

Background

I am curious about everything!  I think I was always that way.  Not in a tinkering kind of way, such as taking things apart, but in an analyzing way.  I love to watch or observe people.  I was always intrigued with people and what they did.  I would observe and ask a million questions.  It was my way of carrying on a conversation.  People are thrilled to answer your questions and I learned a lot.  It helped me overcome my shyness and helped made me comfortable when I started dating.  Everyone likes people who are interested in them.

This is just one of the reasons teachers like classroom participation.  When I taught Exploring Careers, I wanted my students to investigate what they were interested in as a career.  To help stimulate that exploration, I invited speakers from various professions to come to class to answer their questions.  Hopefully, it motivated them to explore and learn more about their career.  If you are going to spend forty (40) or more years in a career or you want to start a business, you should spend the time finding out about it.  You can avoid a lot of mistakes, missteps and save time by doing your research.

Explore

Babies are the original explorers!  When babies crawl and pick up things they are exploring and investigating everything they see.  They pick up everything and put things in their mouths as though everything is food.  I guess plastic, wood and metal all taste different.  They are exploring!  When did we lose this skill?  Part of success is taking a risk by exploring things.  You find something you believe in such as a career and you acquire the skills and experience to be successful.  It starts with exploring something you are interested in.

Are you born with the curious gene?  Yes, but some people lose it.  I encourage my students to read about things they are interested in.  When I was very young, I read biographies of famous successful people and a lot of periodicals.  I tried to become informed on a lot of different subjects.  It helped me figure out what I wanted to do and something to talk about with other people.  I could ask better questions and get better answers.  Success is never just one thing; you are preparing for success in many ways.

Education

We are talking about the broad definition of education.  I am referring to training beyond high school such as four year college, community college, military, trade school, apprenticeship or on the job training.  Some of you are going to point out the exceptions, however I would disagree.  The exceptions are self taught successes.

Some form of training is always necessary.  Whether it is formal such as school or informal, you need it.  You can take classes online, read specific information online or as specific questions and get answers online.  There are a lot of resources that can help you become successful.  There are books, websites and magazines that teach you how to become successful.  There are no excuses because you can learn what you need.

Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs are born not made!  Although controversial it has an element of truth.  First and foremost, you must have the desire to be an entrepreneur.  This is no casual career where you just do your job and go home.  Being an entrepreneur is a 24/7 career!  Do something you enjoy because you will be good at it.  If you are good at it, you will be successful.  Invest your time to find what you like to do, it is that important!  So before you open up that restaurant, high tech company or pursue a medical degree, think about it, investigate it and try to experience it before you go into it.

I really recommend talking to entrepreneurs or people in a chosen career to learn first hand what it is like.  Let’s face it, the movies give us a very glamorous version of an attorneys, doctors, businessmen or people in general.  Ask questions and spend the time learning about these careers.  Get a part time job in your career interest, job shadow or an internship.  Whether you are paid or not should not matter, it is your investment in your future.  Having your business is fun, lucrative and requires a lot from the business owner.  Don’t take it lightly.

Final Thoughts

This is the fifth article in the series about success; I expect to publish throughout 2012.  There will be twenty-six (26) of them, one for each letter of the alphabet.  The 3 E’s of success are explore, education and entrepreneur.  I think everyone wants success in life; business and career; however it takes a concerted effort to reach success.  “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.” Tommy Lasorda sums it up much better than I can!

I started this series because I run into so many people who have difficulty reaching success.  They want to know my secrets!  So I thought I would share them in a format that will be most helpful.  I also think this format may make it more interesting and easier to use. My goal in these articles to provide useful and interesting information that will help you succeed.  The 3 E’s of Success is now a series.

Photo by:  taylorkydd

Friday Night Links Pinched Nerve Edition, Part Deux is a continuation of my previous post.  For about three (3) weeks, I have been suffering with a pinched nerve.  I wish I knew what I did that caused this because I would definitely make sure I would not do it again.  Unfortunately, there was no glamorous story to lament for the injury.  Is it due to age or something I have no control over?

I saw an Orthopedist last Friday and he sent me for an MRI.  The cure was worse than the illness because I had to lay flat for 20-30 minutes.  The pinched nerve is in my neck, so it is impossible for me to lay flat.  Just having the MRI was so painful, I almost stopped it.  That was last night and today I am paying for it!  It was bad before, but I thought it was improving.  Now I am in pain standing, sitting and sleeping is about the only time I am okay.  Like I said the cure may be worse than the illness. I should find out the real cure in the next day or two.

Seriously, your health should never be taken for granted and it is more important than all your successes.  It is difficult to enjoy those successes when you are in pain.  This makes a good segue to today’s picks for Friday Night Links.

The following articles caught my attention:

Not Made of Money - 5 Quick Tips To Reduce Your Grocery Budget

One Cent at a Time  - What is IRA, A Beginners Guide to Traditional IRA

One Money Design - 5 Financial Traps to Avoid that Will Impact Your Financial Peace

Out of Debt Again - How To Be Healthy

Parenting Family Money  -Financial Literacy:  What to Teach Younger Children

Rules

The selection of blogs is up to the committee of one established by krantcents as a representative of the Academy of Frugal Journalistic Writers. That committee can be influenced by meaningful comments, signing up for my RSS feeds, backlinks, links, trackbacks, Facebook Likes, Twitter, Re-tweets, Digg, StumbleUpon, delicio, Yahoo Buzz, Google Bookmarks and other social media. If you plan on creating a single purpose political action committee (PAC) to buy advertising on my blog to solely influence the committee, please go ahead! Please understand it will not influence the results.

I read more than five hundred (500) articles a week and I highlight just five (5) in my Friday Night Links. Stay healthy and enjoy life!!   Thank you for joining me and reading Friday Night Links Pinched Nerve Edition, Part Deux.

Photo by:  wstryder

Invest your tax refund or send it to me!  It is all about choices.  What are you going to do?  I know some will pay down debt, add to savings or fund an IRA.  If you are going to go out and spend it on dinner, clothes, electronic toys or something that will break, wear out or finished in an hour, you can always send it to me!  What choice will you make?

Remember a tax refund is a return of your money that you had withheld from your paycheck.  When you fill out your W4 for withholding it is not specific to your personal circumstances.  It is a universal form for all taxpayers.  If you earnings are similar each year, then you should adjust your withholding to match your tax liability.  To play it safe, try to create a small refund (less than $50).  That is equally true for state income tax as well.  If you receive large refunds every year, either you like the forced savings or you do not mind that you are providing an interest free loan to the government.

Okay, you adjusted your withholding to reduce the size of the refund, what should you do with the money?  Whether you are paid weekly/biweekly/semimonthly/monthly, you can invest your money in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, collectibles, antiques, commodities or real estate.  You are looking toward the future and making choices.  Someday, you want to retire or start a business.  No matter what you want to do, you can do something with that money that will help you get there.  What am I suggesting?

Personal finance experts talk about multiple income streams almost as often as asset allocation when it comes to investing.  In retirement or your later years, you want multiple income streams because you want to make sure you have income.  Retirement may mean a pension, Social Security, IRA, or Roth IRA.  If you are already contributing to your 401K and other tax deferred investments, maybe you should think about a brokerage account.  Why?  Investments, outside a tax deferred account are taxed at capital gains rates!

Some may say that the capital gains tax may change in the future.  I do not know, but I think the risk is worth it.  I want an additional income stream that is taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income.  Similar to an asset allocation, I want to have a diverse income stream to make sure that I do not run out of money in retirement.   In retirement, I want the choice of withdrawing less from my IRA and use funds that have a lower tax rate.  I invest in a Roth IRA, although I do not think I will be in a higher tax bracket in retirement.

I invest in a Roth IRA because I want the choice to either take the money tax free or I can leave in to my heirs.  Choices are the basis for investing and you should give yourself as many choices as possible.  Your investment in a brokerage account can be tax efficient, or for growth, it is your choice!  Just think if you bought fifty shares of Apple when the share price was $60.  It would be tax efficient because there are no dividends currently.  Your $3,000 investment would be worth more than $20,000 today.

That is just one example!  You could add to your savings to invest in rental properties and it too would be subject to capital gains tax.  The more income streams you can accumulate, the better off you are.  What should you do?  You should max out your 401K, IRA, Roth IRA and start a brokerage account!  If you do, you just added another income stream for your future.  What do you think you should do?  You can invest your tax refund or send it to me!

Photo by:  DonkeyHotey

Carnivals

Yakezie Carnival at Steadfast Finances
Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at Newlyweds on a Budget
Festival of Frugality at My Personal Finance Journey
Canadian Finance Carnival at Canadian Finance Blog
Carnival of Financial Planning at Skilled Investor Blog
Carnival of Retirement at Financial Success for Young Adults

You can invest your tax refund or send it to me!

The 3 D’s of Success is the fourth in a series of articles to help you reach your goal.  What are your goals?  I know you thought about it!  You know, it is your dream, wish or resolution you made!  Before you can get to where you want to be, you need to know where you are going.  You wouldn’t get on a bus, train or plane without knowing where it was going.

Background

Habits are routines of behavior repeated regularly and are part of our lives.  It takes twenty-two (22) days to form or break a habit.  Learning new habits or changing habits can be very difficult.  Weight loss is an example of changing habits.  You give up or change your bad habits and replace them with good or healthy habits.  This is true of personal finance, business and success.  Do you think your habits help or hinder your success?

Decision

It all starts with your decision.  You make a choice between one career and another.  We make decisions all the time.  It can be as simple as what to have for breakfast, lunch or dinner!  Decisions range from the trivial to serious life changing issues.  Serious decisions range from who you marry, how you spend your money, career or business choices to where you live.  These simple yet serious decisions can mean success or failure.  Do you think about the consequences of your decisions?

What you eat may make you fat or unhealthy.  Where you go to college may affect the rest of your life.  How much debt you pile up can materially reduce your choices in life.  Decisions are important, but they can be changed!  You can change where and what you eat, you can change how you spend your money and form new habits.  You can make the decision to form new and better habits.  It will lead to success!

Discipline

I am referring to self-discipline or discipline of oneself.  It is the ability to motivate oneself regardless how you feel.  Some of the qualities of self-discipline are willpower, hard work and persistence.  Think about all the things that you could accomplish if you had discipline?  Wouldn’t it be great to lose weight, get out of debt, or make changes in your life?  You could make more money, accomplish more or just be happier.  Self control means you can refrain from giving in to your impulses and make a better decision.

Discipline can keep you from procrastinating or overspending.  Self control will stop overacting or help you exercise more.  Discipline keeps you in the game, whether you will practice and get better or learn new skills and habits.  Discipline helps you in and out of school.  Whether you are in school or not, you are constantly learning new things and skills.  Participating in sports, learning and playing an instrument, clubs/organizations or many professions require and reinforce discipline.  Willpower and self disciple are keys to help you reach success and your goals.

Determination

If I had to state the one quality that helped me become successful more than any other was determination.  I see determination with my students in school.  The odds are against them, but sheer determination helps them persevere and succeed.  We all have obstacles in our lives that we must overcome and determination helps us get through them.  Are you determined enough to achieve success.  Tommy Lasorda, Los Angeles Dodgers Manager said “the difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.”  A sports quote seems so appropriate regarding success and determination.

How much do you want to succeed?  Successful people fail, but are willing to keep trying until they succeed.  Is that determination?  Self determination is a combination of skills and values that enable people to take control of their lives to achieve success.  It reminds me of my parents who immigrated to the United States and built successful businesses.  They succeeded in spite of the odds against them.

Final Thoughts

This is the fourth article in the series about success; I expect to publish throughout 2012.  There will be twenty-six (26) of them, one for each letter of the alphabet.  The 3 D’s of success are decision, discipline and determination.  I think everyone wants success in life; business and career; however it takes a concerted effort to reach success.  “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.” Tommy Lasorda sums it up much better than I can!

I started this series because I run into so many people who have difficulty reaching success.  They want to know my secrets!  So I thought I would share them in a format that will be most helpful.  I also think this format may make it more interesting and easier to use. My goal in these articles to provide useful and interesting information that will help you succeed.  The 3 D’s of Success is now a series.

Photo by:  JD Photography

Friday Night Links Super Bowl Edition is the biggest event of the year.  It has become an event and everybody is watching one way or another.  This is Super Bowl XLVI and I think I have seen every one of them!  I am old enough to remember the first Super Bowl.  To go back further, I remember watching some of the games before they were nationally televised.  What do they mean to you?

Sports and Super Bowls are opportunities to get together at your friend’s home for parties or meet up at your favorite sports bar.  Even the ladies watch some of the Super Bowl, either as a fan or for the commercials or half time show.  The Super Bowl has become the biggest TV advertising event of the year.  Whatever your interest, this is a “big” weekend.  I am going out on a limb and say the New York Giants will win!  Win or lose, I am rooting for the New York Giants.   At the very least, it should be a good game.

Super Bowl is a match up of the best teams for the game of the year.  This makes a good segue to today’s picks for Friday Night Links.

The following articles caught my attention:

Not Made of Money - 10 Must Have Rental Amenities

One Cent At A Time  -How to Deal With Difficult Clients and Customers

One Money Design - Mvelopes: Free Version Now Available

The Debt Myth - “Good Debt” vs. “Bad Debt”

Personal Finance by the Book  - Should itemize or take the Standard Deduction?

Rules

The selection of blogs is up to the committee of one established by krantcents as a representative of the Academy of Frugal Journalistic Writers. That committee can be influenced by meaningful comments, signing up for my RSS feeds, backlinks, links, trackbacks, Facebook Likes, Twitter, Re-tweets, Digg, StumbleUpon, delicio, Yahoo Buzz, Google Bookmarks and other social media. If you plan on creating a single purpose political action committee (PAC) to buy advertising on my blog to solely influence the committee, please go ahead! Please understand it will not influence the results.

I read more than five hundred (500) articles a week and I highlight just five (5) in my Friday Night Links.  Super Bowl and the best blogs of the week, what a combination!   I hope you enjoy reading Friday Night Links Super Bowl Edition.

Photo by:  tedkerwin