MoneyAndPersonalDevelopment.com

Financial Storm: Good times, and Bad times

2013-05-20T01:56:00.000-07:00

When our finances are going well we tend to spend on things we had not expected to and we don’t take advantage of the good times to save.
And, as we see that we have a certain amount accumulated in our savings we immediately spend it, it's like an impulse there that sees that when there are more than 1000 euros saved in the account it invents up the need. (My car doesn't work so well, my TV screen is an old one, I need a last generation smartphone ... etc)

But if an unexpected event comes, as having to pay a lot of taxes we never expected, or a sudden need we had not anticipated, we find ourselves in financial danger.

If you've ever suffered financial turmoil these are those difficult situations that comes once in life to most people.

When this happens is when we pay attention to expenses and use the credit card very carefully, create spreadsheets to emulate an accounting program and follow up every cent and cut all that is unnecessary, such as cable TV and the rates of mobile phones. And reduce cigarettes, the cinema, going out to restaurants and gambling.

But mostly we never ever want to go through there ... because we’ve been force to become frugal, even too frugal!

We can use this painful experience and learn the lessons necessary to not happen again, starting new habits and adopting new schemes that will change our attitude toward money.

Paying yourself first

One of the simplest techniques to adopt good habits is to pay yourself first, so you get used to save before spending, which is great. You can start an automatic savings plan that is scheduled at the beginning of the month before paying your bills.
It's best to put it in a separate account a different one from your regular income and expenses .. forget you have it there .. and let interests work for you.
You know what? When you save money the bank borrows money from you who will pay you back with interest (up to 3% - 4.5%), when you borrow money from the bank it is you who pays the interest (from 4%, 5%, 6%, 7% and on!).
It is better that the bank owes money to you!
What do you think? Have you ever been in a financial storm? What did you learn from it?

Buying a Car with Cash or Taking a Loan

2013-05-10T13:57:00.002-07:00

We know that a car loses its value very quickly, which is really a liability in our small domestic accounting, but sooner or later you would want to buy one for family, professional or just for pleasure reasons.

The idea is that if you have to sell the car quickly, with the amount you'll get back you can pay the credit you asked for completely.

Case 1: Car price: 10,000 $ buy by borrowing 100% of the amount

Photo: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

(I just thought of 10,000 because it's a simple number to deal with)

Suppose that you get a car loan at 5% interest rate over 5 years:

Monthly payment => 188 $

Total cost of credit => 11322 $

After one year the capital needed to pay your credit is => 9066 $

In this case there is a very small chance that you can resell the car for 9066 $

Case 2: Car price: 10,000 $ you ask for a loan of 6700 $, with a contribution of $ 3300 (about 30% of the whole price)

Suppose that it is a car loan to the 4% interest rate to pay in four years:

Monthly payment => 151 $

Total cost of credit=> 7261 $

After one year the capital needed to pay your car loan is => 5449 $

Now there! After a year, you can get the money back to pay it all and the opportunity to buy a new car if you wish to.

Purchase Plan

Having a purchase plan helps you to:

Force yourself to save at least a part of the whole price to buy the car and think about the project taking in consideration your income and your other personal projects. It would be ridiculous to buy a car for 20,000 $ and take a credit of 400 $ for 20 years to repay.
When you save your money you are lending to the bank that will return to you an interest of at least 2% or 3%. However, when the bank lends you money you are paying a 5%,6%,7%... interest. So the less you ask to the bank, the more money you'll have in your pocket.

Case 3: Buy the car 100% cash

This means you had 10000 $ saved, well done! But what if you have empty off almost all of your savings, because let's say you've saved 12 0 15 000 $, and if you spend all this money at once, this will leave you unprotected against an important unexpected need, and you would have to sell the car again very quickly.

To be hurry to sell something is not good, because you would be selling for need and you could lose money.

So, I would keep my savings and buy the car with a 30% contribution asking for a credit for the rest.

And if you sell the car, try to sell it to a particular to avoid the salesman commission.

What do you think?

Generosity: Thoughts on Giving

2013-05-07T10:38:00.003-07:00

The great American billionaires have a sense of giving mission and always end up becoming benefactors.
Rockefeller gave ten percent of his income since their first salary. Warren Buffet and Bill Gates are going much further and think that the rich should give half of their wealth.
Ads

Thus began their campaign for billionaires "The Giving Pledge" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge

They and many others, are all great philanthropists that are returning a portion of the money they make to the source where it came from: humanity.

But why giving?

For two main reasons:

Just for sharing, you are giving the necessary first step to get rich: sow. Sowing the seeds that will give you rewards when the time comes. If there is no seed then there is no fruit. Without sharing, there is no harvest.
By giving you are sending information to your brain and saying it that it has more than enough. Although you may not have it physically! To meet your expectations, your brain receives a message of abundance. From abundance because however little amount, it is enough to give.

Image courtesy of [anankkml] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There are people who have accumulated so much and so much money that they end up being afraid of losing it and become greedy and will never be satisfied with what they have. There are those who having almost nothing are also greedy.

In both cases they have great insecurity and have not understood that to receive we must give. Nature itself teaches us that some of the best grain must return to earth to grow new fruit.

By contributing to the progress of mankind, the development of culture, art and communication we make ALL richer.

If you were a millionaire you probably like to see that the rest of the people also have prosperity, in which way would you like to contribute?

Personally I think that in order to give you do not have to be billionaire: to make money you have to learn to spend wisely. To receive we must give, not just money, but your time and personal dedication too.

But give wisely, of course.

Alejandro Jodorowsky, speaks of giving once a week, and every Wednesday he gives free consultations at a bar in Paris called "Le Temeraire", he says:

Once a week, teach others for free no matter how little or how much you know. What you give them, you give it to yourself. What we do not give, you take it off from yourself.

Humans are social animals, we are all united and we tend to serve, to add value and make this world a better place to live.

So we feel useful and part of a unity that is much bigger than us.

Therefore, everything we do for others, we are doing for ourselves.

What do you think?

Debt will mar your financial freedom – Tips to keep debt at bay

2013-04-26T22:38:00.001-07:00

Are you someone who has been continuously misusing your credit cards? If answered yes, you should immediately change your habit as you will land up in a mess in the long run if you keep on accumulating a huge amount of debts. Credit card debt is high interest debt and when you start accumulating a huge amount of debt; this will not only hurt your credit score but also take away your peace of mind. Credit score plays an important role in helping you grab good loans in the market at an affordable rate. Therefore, if you’re looking for ways to keep debts at bay so that you can seek financial freedom, you may read on the concerns of this article. Check out the financial tips to maintain a safe distance with your high interest debt.

Follow a frugal budget : The foremost step that you need to take is to follow a frugal budget that will do away with all the unnecessary expenses. You should learn to distinguish between needs and wants and make sure that you spend your hard-earned dollars at the necessities and postpone your luxury expenses. Follow the budget throughout the month and make the necessary changes according to the changes in the monthly income and expenses.
Stop digging further into debt : You should stop digging further into debt by using cash instead of credit. If you keep on using your credit cards, you will very soon drown in a sea of debt and therefore it is important for you to carry cash instead of credit so that you don’t keep digging further into debt. Eliminate the habit of taking resort to credit when you can’t afford things with cash as this is bad financial move that will lead to debt.
Negotiate with your creditors : If you feel that it’s useless to speak to your creditors, you’re grossly mistaken. They’re actually the best people who can help you strike a better deal with them so as to make it possible to repay your debt obligations. They will assess your present financial situation and then test the possibilities and the chances of making repayments with the adjustments.
Start making payments : Once you negotiate with your creditors, you have to start making the monthly payments as soon as possible so that your debt amount keeps decreasing with time. Don’t forget the due dates that the creditors offer you as this will trash your credit score in the long run. The sooner you make the monthly debt payments, the sooner you will get out of debt in the near future.

Therefore, when you’re wondering about the ways in which you can get out of debt and secure a debt free living, you can take the above mentioned points into consideration. Remember that it is not only important to get out of debt but also stay out of debt to avoid incurring debt in the long run.
Written by Penn Ross

Create the Life you Want to Live

2013-04-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

How can you create the life you want?

Leap forward

The biggest leap forward you can make is learning by integrating and then applying your knowledge.

Because you can read a thousand books and even write another thousand ones, but they are nothing if those concepts don't live inside yourself.

To apply these new ideas in order to live a richer life you need to free your potential just by telling yourself that you can do more, much more to achieve a higher level.
You must remove the blocks that hinder you from progressing in life and go beyond your limits.

Money

The other important subject is money and I am not talking about being frugal or saving money, all that will help you only to a certain extent. I am talking about making more money and creating different sources of income. Start an independent business and work for yourself and think about your own projects.

Making money is so much more exciting than figuring out how to save it. It is so much more encouraging to make 100 or 1000 dollars extra by month than to reduce your expenses by 10%!

Money is not the goal in itself, but it is what serves to measure your economic success.

Self efficacy

It is impossible to live a rich life if it is not effective in the sense that you use your talents to produce value. Instead of letting the pressure of urgency and adrenaline for the last minute to push you. You are the actor and the conductor who sets the pace. Being effective is not a recommendation in our time, it is essential to navigate and succeed while having fun doing it.

If you've ever tried to set your goals, you know what I mean. It is complex to formulate correctly the objective and to make sure that it is really is a goal. And then it is complex to not procrastinate and consistently work on it.

Are you Afraid of Losing what you Have

2013-04-15T13:20:00.003-07:00

Everyone wants to improve their lives. Some a part of it and some others would change everything from start. However fear is always the hindering element and you might find yourself submerged in a long period of dissatisfaction.

But in your career to financial freedom, what may be the biggest fear?

Fear of losing what you have

I would rather say this the other way around:

It is what we own what stops us, now that we've managed to reach a certain comfort zone where we already have material goods and known situations, for example:

Money.
Lifestyle.
Routine.
Social status and power.
Relationships.
Precious objects.
Comfort.

And if it's really like that then the game is over, because you are valuing what you have now more than you could have.

The thing is simple: if you do not want to change things, then why you are not satisfied?

And is really that blocking that in many situations we cling to the conditions or privileges previously gained. So many prefer to see the company go down rather than considering the situation and change things.

I'm not saying that you have to be starting new things all the time and there is a time to reap what you have sown. To rework on what you started and build upon.

Are you ready to lose or to regret not having tried at all?

Have you ever approached to the girl or guy you like, but do not dare to say anything. Why? What's prevented you from speaking?

Maybe the fear of losing the image you have of yourself. Or the fear of losing the image others have of you. And you did nothing (except imagine all the possible negative scenarios why shouldn't work) and there was a wonderful opportunity just for you.

So instead of listening to the frequency of fear, maybe you can hear the frequency of regret in a good way to motivate yourself and act.

The difference between living life to the full and being a complete fool

I'm not saying you have to throw everything out the window and go crazy constantly. Trying to live life to the full does not mean acting without consideration and thinking about your steps.

I'm talking about grabbing opportunities. Be prepared, have a light heart and be ready to go through the door.

Most fears are things that never happen, without any foundation.

And most of all we must not be naive, but daring when it comes to.

The best way to successfully integrate the changes is to anticipate consequences and make small experiences and tests, investigate and give you time to mature.

Regret not having tried is one thing, regret a past situation is another.

Between doing and not doing, choose to do it, at least you will have the experience.

Alejandro Jodorowsky.

And if you listened to what your heart tells you, and your heart tells you to not change anything, then do not change it, but it is just not healthy to regret about it.

Otherwise, explore. You never know what you will find!

The Way of the Euro

2013-04-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

The Euro brings with it a paradox.

The Euro as a single currency has provided monetary mobility for citizens of its member states.
Just remember how it was before: Spain had the peseta, France had the French franc, Germany the German mark, and so on. So every time you traveled from country to country you had to convert your money.

But now the euro has turned the page of restrictions on the movement of capital and other difficulties of convertibility for certain currencies.

Everything happened as if the single currency had been a temporary lucky strike, thanks to low interest rates and conditions of German debt, the specialization of our economies and the reduction of the state weight .

So, the Euro has everything to bring in stability and prosperity to all European members.

Now the European Community wants to straighten things out, but the role of politicians and banks are not clear to me.

The case of Cyprus, in this respect, is very instructive: local bank bankruptcies, driven by losses on obligations of another neighbor of the euro zone default (Greece) which led to the capture of deposits and reintroduction of control of capital flows.

But Cyprus has a singularity: 30% of its capital comes from Russia and the direct action of the ECB (European Central Bank) in Cyprus is still a mystery to me.
The communist party has the majority in Cyprus.
I was just wondering, why Russia did have so much capital in Cyprus, anyway?
What do you think?

Cyprus Crisis or the Monetary War

2013-03-26T13:28:00.002-07:00

Cyprus was, it is true, a financial fund fortress which hosted some oligarchs and especially Russian secret funds. But this is not the essential thing. Cyprus is the hub of many commercial capital which are entirely lawful and clear from Russia. Russia uses Cyprus commercial capital movements that can be estimated 300 to 400 billion per year.

It is obvious that the Russians need a place like that. It is a matter of sovereignty and national independence. The knock that was led to the financial Cypriot system during the weekend, restructuring the Cypriot banks under European control, goes against the interest and Russian sovereignty. The levy may be 30% on deposits of more than 100,000 euros but this is almost trivial compared to other problems that this inflicts to the Russians.

There is a shift in Russia's position with the hit of the ECB (European Central Bank). The ECB has in fact declared a currency war in Cyprus and then to Russia. This is the true meaning that can be given to the expression "Currency Wars." The real "currency wars", the first episode, which has a geopolitical connotation, was declared by the ECB. Note that this blockade was not imposed by the European political authorities, but by the ECB, which is incredible. The Russian change of tone shows that one enters into matter of State interests rather than particular problems. The Russians are not stupid, they know how to take a declaration of war for what it is. A slap is not a caress.

So now we get into what I do not hesitate to call "currency war". Personal reflections of Medvedev and Putin are replacing diplomatic language. Provided, if you follow well, that diplomacy is "the continuation of war by other means".

The Russians are fantastic chess players, that is why they are calm, they think and meditate before moving pawns.

Do you Take Your Job Too Seriously?

2013-03-25T14:07:00.001-07:00

Many people think that if they put all their intelligence and all their efforts, and take seriously the objectives and values of the company and engage fully into the action they will achieve exceptional results.
Well, this is true and this strategy will allow them to earn more money or get a promotion, but that takes a lot of energy.

They are giving themselves more and more to their work making business life their only system beliefs.
Business life values are taking the place of human values and the place of family life, which is degraded.

Then negative stress begins to appear and exhaustion, health problems and a feeling of being burned-out.
Their mental and emotional system pay the price of the endless rat race.

But, did they ever wonder if life is just about that?

All that effort, years of study and preparation just to find themselves working more and more.

But who will be by their side on their deathbed? The boss? The co-workers? The customers? I think they won't give a damn!

When the working atmosphere it’s your only atmosphere

Image courtesy: [D. Castillo Dominici] /
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Work environment is amazing, everyone follows the norms of the business rules that may be established or adopted by the main behavior tribe.
For example, everyone decides that the coffee machine should be in a certain place and no other. Or that no one should have plants (or that they should have them), or that every body accepts that nobody actually says what he thinks to preserve the "good atmosphere".

In the tribe there are favorites and black sheep and when something interesting happens, a wedding or a trip, everyone open their ears to be informed.

If something less interesting happens, like somebody getting sick or somebody is quitting the company, they listen a moment and then close all their ears so that nothing will disturb the routine and good atmosphere.

There may also be a great teams who complete major projects with a great symbiosis, people who understand well each other and enjoy work.

But in fact, all this is of little importance. What is truly important is that these things occupy most of your thoughts.

You wake up thinking about what happens in your tribe work? Do you go to sleep planning meetings and work projects, wondering if you'd reach the monthly goals?

Change your attitude

You might think about changing jobs to end this situation, but frankly I don’t think this is the solution, because you will put into practice the same schemes again and fall into the same routines.

The only solution is to change your attitude towards work now and put it in its proper place.

If you receive criticism, listen and correct things. If you get praised for something you’ve done well, say thanks and pass onto something else.

In any case, just put work in its right place. You will be much more effective and creative being calm and balanced, looking at things from the good perspective.
There you can find the answer to your questions, the real path to success, the path that maybe you were expecting to see from a long time ago.

How to Be Effective and Remain Calm

2013-03-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

To change our behavior when setting up to work is just to change the way we approach to a work day, the way we make our decisions and how we treat our tasks.

If you want to change your life, your location, your income or increase your quality of life, then it is inevitable to talk about efficiency.

We can change things just to reduce stress, organize tasks by priority and learn to not leave things for later,not to procrastinate.

Effectiveness and money

They have one thing in common and that is that in order to improve your finances and your productivity you need behavioral changes. But the word "change" creates this kind of resistance:

I've always managed well.
I do not want to work without stop.
Now I have too many responsibilities.

Efficiency and experience

Experience is not necessarily the time you spent performing certain tasks. Some people

"work forty years in the pharmacy and they don't even know where are aspirins."

And is it just the monotony that stagnates them brain. So a good experience depends on the intensity, frequency and variety of tasks performed.

Experience is what improves your quality of life.

How is it possible? For example, let's say if you finish your work at 5 in the afternoon instead of at 7, you can spend more time with your family or on other things that you enjoy doing.

Those who are inefficient miss a great opportunity

It is all about acting and remaining calm to not let the formula one crash, just because we are the pilots on the steering wheel.

It is not about running or going fast anymore, and there are cases of professional burnout increasing frequently.

Calm is the only way to regulate things, to enjoy them, to do them all and the key to success.

What do you think?

Why do You Want to Be Rich?

2013-03-14T13:57:00.001-07:00

Richness and abundance are not the same thing, there some people who are really wealthy and nevertheless they are much more debt slaves than you and I. Those who have great salaries and live a lifestyle of madness, creating themselves more material responsibilities.

My goals are simple, my goals are to become completely debt free and then financially free. I'm getting closer and closer to that goal.

In recent months, we have drastically reduced expenses without necessarily have to live like the poor. To reach these goals, we have performed a detailed plan that we carried out with discipline, also trying to be frugal and keeping a tighter budget control and before the end of the year we'll be able to pay one of our great debts.

Watch your wishes

I'm on the right path to get out of debt and become rich. I'm doing all the right things. But why? Why I want to be debt free? Why do I want a lot of money?

I know that intellectually money does not always bring happiness, but when we all strive to have more and more of the same stuff and sometimes we sacrifice our time with our families just to get more.

I know some who have built very successful businesses and have earned a lot of money and in the meantime they abandon their families. They wanted to be rich so wealth wiped them out.

They've got extraordinary houses and cars and yet they are alone in the world, as is the case with many celebrities.

Money issues cause major conflicts at home. For example to get out of debt: in a couple one can become a fool of frugality, while the other is a spendthrift.

So what is the point?

Say that I can achieve my goal of being completely free of debt. Then what?

What do I do with all that extra money? It would make sense to save it for retirement, right? But everything seems so superficial. It turns out that I will spend my whole life working so I can relax and do what I like the last 10-20 years of my life? Something is wrong there.

I want more purpose in my life and more sense now because time is so valuable, even so much more than money!

My purpose

My purpose is to express creativity, to write and tell others how to live financially free, at least financially secure, which I think we all deserve. Some of you have contacted me asking for advice, I do not give advice to anyone, what you read here is simply based on my experiences and observations, but I have found that this can be an inspiration to others who look for a different and better life like me.

With all this I can feel "rich", at least it gives me more satisfaction than knowing I've reduced 1000 euros of debt. But do not get me wrong, it is clear that financial freedom is the most important objective, but without a real purpose behind it doesn't really matter. Do not sacrifice your life today to get your goals.

If you are starting a business or trying to pay important debts, it is normal that at first you have to strive to build momentum, but it should not be that way all the time, not at the cost of your life, your health, your family or your integrity.

What is the Ponzi Scheme

2013-03-12T14:23:00.005-07:00

The German economist Daniel Stelte is doing a tour of Europe since January with the slogan: Ending the era of Ponzi finance

But who was Ponzi? Ponzi was this rotten Italian-American in the 20s who created a sophisticated benefits chain. And then the name Ponzi has lasted to posterity. The Ponzi scheme has become a "financial arrangement consisting in paying fraudulent benefits to clients mainly by funds contributed by new commers." Sooner or later, the deception comes to the surface and the castle collapses: the newcomers are those who pay the piper.

In 1920, Charles Ponzi was able to steal off thousands of people for the equivalent of $ 5 million of our days promising a 50% profit in 45 days.

What is the Ponzi scheme?

It's very simple really.

The manager will promise a very high performance return for your investment. Something really exaggerated, "the bigger the lie, the easier it passes through."
Greedy customers trust their money in and get their first profits. From there on, word of mouth is usually enough to convince other people to put their money in. In the end, the last coming in to invest are the ones paying the interests of the others.

The idea is to go away with the money generated when the sum is important.

The system is based on the accumulation and the snowball effect (something that can be used wisely to pay your debts).

For example, imagine that I promised you a 20% fund benefits on a financial product and ask you to invest 100,000 euros.

At first, I've got three customers who agree to invest 100,000 euros each because of my reputation and the fact that the amount requested is not very important (relatively speaking ...).

With 300,000 euros, the payment of 20% of promised return is 60,000 euros the first year and I'm still keeping 240,000 in my pocket. Customers are happy and believe they have found the goose that lays the golden eggs. The news spread quickly and the second year and I have 20 customers and 2 million to manage.

At the end of the year, I have to pay the promised 20% of this amount: 400,000 euros. And I've got 1,600,000 in my pocket. And so on ...

Note that in the meantime I can put the money into a safe investment that could return from 4% to 5% to enjoy while I'm waiting.

Then time goes by and after 5 years, I find myself with 8,000,000 million euros that I've got after paying interests to people: it is time to move to a tax haven :)
I'm just going away with all.

The first customers gained back some of their money, those which came at the moment of scam a small part and the newcomers lost a lot.

Therefore it is called the "chain of Ponzi" because latecomers pay the interest of those who came first.

So these are some things to remember when investing:

If it sounds too good to be true, then it is probably not true.
There is no way to have astronomical interest returns (over 7%) without risk.
To become quickly rich is not possible and should not be your goal.
If you do not understand how the investment works do not invest.

It is Common but Not Normal

2013-03-10T13:45:00.001-07:00

We use the phrase "it is normal" without thinking when we really want to say that something is usual.
If something goes wrong, if we suffer, or if life is hard, then "it is normal" and we could really say that it is common but not normal.
So we accept it and take every burden on us, without thinking that there are other ways of doing things, because it is "normal".
And so it is, like everyone else.

But, are you going to be like everyone else?

I get up in the morning to go to work in a hurry and I have no time for a coffee and kiss my wife (or husband).
It is common but not normal.
I'm stressed and I get upset easily, but I do nothing to change my habits to avoid stress.
It is common, but not normal.
I eat fast food and pre-cooked meals as usual to not spend time on cooking. Then I feel tired and I go to the pharmacy to buy vitamins to maintain the tonus.
It is common, but not normal.
I watch violent movies on television, aggressive ads and read all the news that speak of war and conflicts. Then I proclaim that what this world needs is peace.
It is common, but not normal.
In my conversations I talk about all the economic problems that I have, of scarcity in the world and I'm always saying that I need money, but my real goals are to live in prosperity and increase my quality of life.
It is common, but not normal.

Should I go on?

What to do to get out of this vicious circle?

Watch your conversations, conversations with yourself and with others, and talk free from history.
Take a step and get new habits, eve if they are small things like getting ten or fifteen minutes early to avoid hurrying up and start the day without stress.
Stop feeding your mind from television and other garbage media. Look for good news and you will find them.
Start taking better care of yourself.

This is normal and usual, I hope.

Your First Investment

2013-03-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

It is the first time you invest your money and you have no idea of what is an investment?

An investment is an asset that produces money back for you. Basically it means that in return of your capital the assets produce more money. Depending on the asset and performance you get, you expose your capital to a level of risk and the theory is the higher the risk, the higher is the return you'll get back.

These are basic features that an investor you should consider for your first investment:

Control: Should I control my investments or should I go through intermediaries? How much this controls costs me?
Risk: How much money I can lose?
Volatility: The price of the asset has many variations? (Something very common in higher risk products)
Liquidity: how quickly could sell the asset?
Costs: The cost of buying, selling and managing the investment?

An investment can produce two types of income:

Capital: When the price of the investment goes up in value.
Income: When you receive dividends.

In any case I always recommend products that you can control with Internet through the online banking for three simple reasons:

You get more interest
They have less expenses
You can control it at all times

Create passive income

Making a living from passive income is to control assets and create a system that operates automatically without any intervention on your part. But passive income will not get started "passively", unless you get an inheritance, of course.

We must begin to acquire assets and passive income will be the result. Before you make your first investment you must get the most important asset of all: your financial training. This the foundation that will allow you to build your system.

More tips for your first investment

Image courtesy of [Sujin Jetkasettakorn] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

To decide which financial product purchase start by study its evolution and seek for historical information. Look at the products that have evolved better in downturns in the financial markets, if it worked well in hard times, those are the good ones!.

When buying do not lean in prices: a lower-priced product can be at their most expensive moment. Do not rush, if in doubt choose safe funds to ensure a minimum return and in any case you will be putting your money back to work for you.

Many recommend diversifying to many financial product to minimize risks, but I see this as a problem that will hinder you from managing effectively your assets.

And finally, even if it is your first investment, do not get into the hands of a bank manager: he or she is there to collect their fees and make their own money, so their recommendations will remain influenced by their own interests.

How much should I invest?

I could not tell you much you should invest, just say what you can save the rest of the money into an emergency fund, which is always an investment anyway, but it will allow you to have enough cash for a project or something you want to buy without asking for a credit to get it.

Are you ready for your first investment?

4 Activities to Change Deeply

2013-03-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you've already been in love. Or maybe you are. And at first everything seems to be beautiful and possible. You've got a positive energy that minimizes all obstacles and trials. You feel calm and happy.

This is simply because the magic of the wonderful meeting has filled your mind, and your spirit is full of satisfaction and joy.

So if we stay in love for our entire life, we would be happy and peaceful all the time.

Yes, except that this emotional love state does not last forever, even if we always love our loved one, that first time feeling eventually loses its power and influence and we become sensitive to situations again.

Extend love so it becomes a background emotion

But imagine that you've got, besides the love for your wife or husband, a good life, and that you're surrounded by good friends, and that your children are growing beautifully, that each week you practice your favorite activities, etc.. Then you can maintain this feeling of seamless happiness inside you.

These good things will saturate the brain with positive experiences to install this background emotion of joy to stay.

To do this, we will see four major areas to improve:

1. The activities related our body: walking in nature, practicing individual sports without competition, massage, sunbathing, swimming, body contact with other people, sexual activity, tenderness, good eating pleasures, etc. A long walk in nature or near water has the same physiological effects that antidepressant.

2. Activities and feelings related to relationships: Having pets, enjoying a family, and keeping a good professional and social lifestyle. Practicing team sports.

Productivity and repetitive tasks at work and the time spent in front of screens, reduces the number and quality of these informal activities where we have the pleasure of being together just for sharing.

It is not the same to hug a friend and have a coffee together than to put a message on the his Facebook wall.
It is not the same getting a phone call to learn that you're grandma, than to learn it out from the Facebook wall.
It is not the same to see a sunrise on the mountains than to watch it on a video.

3. Activities and feelings related to the intellect: creativity and arts, learning and discovering, meditating, training, imagination to create new projects and philosophical aesthetical pleasures.

Repetitive daily tasks and handling only known results can cause the reduction of brain connections. Confronting things and trying to innovate strenghts our personality and stimulates our creative side.

4. Activities and feelings related to the spiritual: to enable human beings to rise above their condition, to understand the underlying mechanisms of the world, to connect with something that is bigger than oneself, to discover the meaning of existence, prayer, meditation. In our increasingly materialistic society, the importance given to these elements is mixed with suspected sectarian mechanisms.

However, spirituality is a hallmark of the human species in the animal world and is found in various forms in all peoples and latitudes.

The "recipe" is to create a world in which we should maximize this kind of activities and good emotions. To do this change can be difficult and may have to use som "surgery" (change of job, change of residence, change of husband ...). It is not always easy.

So, go slowly: when I start to not feel good, the right question is "How can I feel a little better here and now", so you can find your own answers right now what is good for us to evolve into good background emotions. This is one of the basic principles of emotional intelligence: to deal with the emotion, and then deal with the situation.

Background Emotions

2013-02-28T13:35:00.001-08:00

When we speak of emotions we have to understand them in two levels. The most obvious level is when emotions all come triggered by visible and detectable causes.

At this time there is a clear change in our thoughts and body feelings. Then we identify the emotion we are feeling and chose the response behavior.

For example, when I'm angry because the car before mine run very slowly I may:

Scream my head off to the driver and wait for the next red light stop to get out of my car and scream even more.
Criticize all the bad drivers who do not drive fast enough.
Put on good music on the radio and calm down and breathe quietly putting on a plastic smile.
Change my way and go to speed up.
Try to overtake the car in a more or less dangerous way, and so on.

For each emotion that is triggered by an external situation there is an infinite range of possible reactions, each reaction will have a different impact on what is going to happen (if I knock the driver, the impact is different than if I stay fresh and smiling) .

This is the same for internal triggers. For example, when I am anticipating a stressful situation (a job interview, for example), I feel anxiety, fear, or even a form of panic before the time of the interview, though at this moment I may be having coffee with my sweetie.

This is an anticipation mechanism. Again, from this knowledge you may have very different reactions to adapt yourself to the new challenge: putting things in the right perspective, prepare yourself and practice, seek a coach for training or read books on job interviews.

Deepest emotions

Image courtesy of: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What is it going to change the way we live and the way we handle each of these emotions?

There are many factors involved, but a very important one is background emotions. In some ways this is the emotional base of our well being.

We are not aware of these background emotions because the intensity of the emotion is low or medium on one side and on the other side because it is at such a deep level that we do not realize.

For example, people with sadness as background emotion are not even aware that most times they will react to situations automatically. If you tell them that the weather is wonderful, they will reply that it will not last.

If you tell them that the new manager is very nice, they will talk to you about the good old days with the old Mr.. If you give them a new task, they immediately think that they will not be able to do it, etc..

Our background emotions are aligned with our psychic life and act as a filter to dampen or amplify the action triggers.

This process can be very deep inside if it were formed long time ago. If my background emotion is fear, I will filter all events through that fear to feed it and make it bigger.

It is the same thing when it comes to sadness or anger. Then it becomes a prison that inhibits creativity, commitment, change, and adaptation to external reality.

Background emotions work right when we can, at the present, be aware of the deep emotional mechanism which we are living so that we can change things right now.

Then we can choose how to get out of a situation by changing our reactions.

It is much simpler than all that: it is about working on background emotions as we work the land, to dye it with joy, satisfaction and pleasure, and internal or external triggers will have much less control over us and we can stay calm in spite of circumstances.

Failing Until you Success by Seth Godin

2013-02-26T04:54:00.003-08:00

There’s a long tradition of people having a job. I think that tradition is over. I think the model of walking up the corporate ladder is busted.
I’ve failed more times than I’ve succeeded.
If I fail more than you I win. If you get to keep playing that mean you get to keep failing and sooner or later you succeed.

People who loose don’t fail at all or they fail so big that they never get to play again.
the kind of failure people talk about is no failure at all. If you post a blog post and it doesn’t resonate with people, post another one tomorrow.

Should we jump out and take a risk?

Let’s talk about definitions:
What is a freelancer?
A graphic designer might be a freelancer. If you work as a designer you get paid for working. The more you work the more you get paid.

What is an entrepreneur?

And an entrepreneur get paid while she sleeps. They build businesses bigger than themselves and she gets paid when she is not eve there.

What is to work for a boss

Think if your boss is asking you to do a set of tasks because it is so, they are going to find someone that is cheaper than you, which is not good.
Or if your boss is asking you to solve interesting problems and if that is the case, now you’ve got to work it out for you.

To take the appropriate risks

Image courtesy of [Stuart Miles] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Those are risks that keep you in the game even if you fail. All great programmers learn the same way: they code something and see what the computer does. They change it and see what the computer does. They repeat the process again and again until they figure out how the box works.
They don’t get bumped out when their code doesn’t run they get chances to do it again.
It’s all about exploring and trying what it works.

How a business work

Get curious about how things work, about how a business work. School has brainwashed us to just accept it all.
Don’t ask, just listen and conform to it.
Now in this revolutionary age things are being rebuilt

Resistance and fear

How did we end up accepting this dictatorship from the system? How does it work in other countries? How has it been become the status quo?
Right now is easier to start a new business than anytime in history, the only person stopping you from starting a new business is you.
Access to marketing, access to capital, access to information have never been so easy, os take initiative, do not wait for instructions.

Comparing Japan to Singapore

Japan is in trouble because of this conformity thing is not working, it didn’t work for Sony and it didn’t work for a lot of companies, because if all you are going to do is the same as before and there isn’t somebody with a new map, it is really tough.
Singapore is just as crowded as Japan but they’ve got the freedom to invent new stuff. They are not waiting for somebody from the United States to bring the plan for them. They are taking initiative.
If you are working on an organization that doesn’t let you take even a little initiative you ought to try to get you fired.
I don’t really think that you work on an organization like that, but if you do why you are wasting today an tomorrow and the next six months doing that?
We have more degree of freedom we think of. Even if you are a waitress at a restaurant yu can figure out how to be the waitress they would miss if you are gone.
What does that costs?

Source: Notes from the interview with Seth Godin from the video "Failing until you success" (http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225447)

Let Money Flow in Your Life

2013-02-22T13:04:00.002-08:00

Manifest abundance in your life.

This morning on my way to work I was thinking: I have to write about respecting money, things like what do you do when you see a 10 cent coin on the floor? Do you bend over to pick it up? Will you lean down for 5 cents?

What if you are in the supermarket and you need 5 cents to pay for purchases? You can not get your groceries home unless you return a product.

And just as I was thinking about these ideas I saw on the ground a 20 euros bill, I took it right away without a second thought.
Of course it was there for me, a new 20 euros bill on which people had stepped on without even seeing it, so I picked it up and put it neatly in my wallet.

Image courtesy of [renjith krishnan] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I took this simple fact as a manifestation of abundance.It is not the first time I find money on my way to work, some other times it have been 5 euros and coins too. I pick up everything and I always find money when I decide to change unexpectedly my usual path and cross a sidewalk or walk out of my usual way.

I have an innate impulse that leads me to break the routine, you see, maybe this is why I am seeking financial freedom.

Watch your language

Talking about how things are so bad is a habit that television and the media promote every day.
But you do not talk all the time of your needs and lack of money, not even to joke.
Every time you talk about scarcity and shortages think that you are creating a mental image of scarcity, which ultimately results in real lack in your life.

Speak only positively about your financial situation, if you haven't got money say that money is coming in this moment to you, that you are living the experience and that you will always have money when you need it.

This may at first seem like a lie to you but it is only to create new though habits.
You will soon get used to thinking in a much more positive way and will create a stream of abundance that will make money flow into your life.

Focus on prosperity

Attract to you the company of prosperous people, people who made it and have success. Sometimes that which we hate is what we want to be. And look for symbols of abundance and get rid of damaged or very old things at home.

Do not criticize an expensive product because you cannot not have it at the moment, it is better to buy less frequently and when you buy something it will be a symbol of quality and prosperity for you.

Brainwashing Commercials and Consumerism

2013-02-19T14:09:00.002-08:00

Our modern society is fascinating. You've never seen so many things to buy and so many things to sell, and how are we supposed to react to so much hype?

You can find all kinds of products with all kind of prices. It has never been so many offers, so many possibilities and so many temptations to go to the bank and borrow money.

It is believed that one of the causes of the problems in young people, who are demonstrating destructive rage, is because of ads and commercials. Now, if they are constantly flooded with slogans, images, posters, commercials and whatnot, how will they react?

The first thing they want when they get to work and get money is to buy all these objects: they too want to consume and possess things.

That works very well that brainwashing publicity, eh? Because they want to replace our need of belonging to a group, or a tribe as Set Godin would say, with the feeling of “belonging” to a brand, to push us more and more into consumerism.
And we all want our part, but what does that part mean for us? To work more to earn more to spend more?

Image courtesy of [renjith krishnan] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The other day I heard a conversation between two women:
"Ah, this Saturday I went to this and that shop and you should see how I "burned" my credit card with all the purchases I made,"
- And the other woman replied,
"Ah, that is a good thing to do from time to time! "

Consumerism is the worst drug in our society. It's like eating when you are not hungry for fear of not having enough later.

If you become a victim of this kind of brainwashing situation you will have far fewer opportunities to reach your financial goals and moreover your financial freedom.

If you become a victim of commercials and consumerism you will not pay your debts but increase your debts.

You will not have savings projects nor buy financial assets to get passive income or whatever, because you will fall to the temptations that materialism sets in your way.

I have lots of debts and I am a victim of consumerism, what I can do?

Turn off your tv. Just to see what happens for awhile. Watch yourself and watch the others, you will be better off.

The cause of all this is only in our minds and the solution is linked to your ability to separate the powerful speech of commercials from your real life.

The next most important thing is to feed your mind with good things and turning the tv off is a good start.

Start appreciating what you already have and then make inventory to see how far your lifestyle is linked to consumerism.

The difference between need and desire

Learn to differentiate between need and desire, many people confuse these two, and the more confused they are the more financial mistakes they make. We can say that need is all that is vital for you: food, shelter, clothes (and I'm not talking about dressing in Prada clothes unless you can afford it, of course), the rest is in the domain of desire .

The secret to stop being a victim of consumerism is to find a good balance between what you need and what you desire, if you can spend without counting because you have a cash reserve or savings, why not buy it if you can not afford it?
But if you have to ask for money to the bank to spend on these things, these credits are going to take you straight on the road to poverty.

And you, are you a victim of consumerism?

What Will Happen with Debt?

2013-02-13T03:56:00.004-08:00

It is certain that America will, one way or another, cancel on its deb.

This is the teaching of history, outstanding debts are never paid. They are either rejected or destroyed, as it was with Russia. There will come a time after the hard phase of crisis, where everyone will realize that the risk kills growth, hope and mobility in our society. And of course freedom.

Pseudo-democratic societies bought social peace by what can be called "risk premium package", increasing wages, social transfers, securities, employment creation, which made legitimate social order existing.

The accumulation of debt, the rising of inequality and unemployment, make this solution now obsolete.

We can not continue this way as debt is too big.

Image courtesy of [Stuart Miles] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The IMF doctrine of austerity to find balance it's being rejected by the United States and by Europe also who is quietly delaying the payment deadlines.

There will come a time when the United States will propose solutions. These solutions require drastic reduction in the debt burden,and it will be like a gift to the global world but in its own interest also.

A fairer monetary system

The present monetary situation is temporary the world can not live forever flooded with liquidity.
One day or another, it will leave the monetary and fiscal policies because they are not fit anymore.

Then the question will arise for a monetary system more satisfying, more balanced, that better reflects the situation of the whole world.
A system which will reflect justice and not and not the one we have right now, which emerged from the Second World War. A system that will take advantage of advances in science and technology and put it at the service of men.

Can I Afford to Save 10% of My Salary?

2013-02-06T13:32:00.001-08:00

Well if you'd make 10% less than your usual salary, would you be able to live on it?
But if you really think you cannot afford to save 10% of your earnings then just start to save 5%.
The thing is to start a new habit of paying yourself first, and see how much you have got left to live.

This would be an ideal distribution of monthly income:

Salary:

Savings:
up to 20%

Entertainment, leisure:
10%-30%

Current-expenses:
50%-80%

Look: First is the savings, pay yourself first and then you will see for the rest.

Where to invest money?

Savings books
Safe financial products

Image courtesy of [ddpavumba,] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Savings books: they do not produce much interests, the advantage is that the interest is guaranteed and you can withdraw money at will. Is a good way to start or when you have not that much money.
Financial products without risks: they get interesting enough when you find a product that yields a 4, or 4.5% interest, the kind of product depends on the country you are. Here in France there are life insurances, with the start minimum fund of 1000 euros. Well, this must be studied carefully in each case ad watch the evolution of the interest, and is even more beneficial if tax deducted for

In any case, do not forget that:

I'm no expert on finances, this is only my advice.
The idea is to get out of credit slavery on the road to financial freedom.

How much money should I put in emergency savings?

The system is simple, just put the equivalent to 6 months of expenses, and then start saving between 10% and 15% each month.
In round numbers: If your monthly expenses are up to $1000, start saving up to $6000.
This amount can keep you away from asking for a credit when you are in need or it can be a small project to buy you some important thing.

Are you a Farmer or a Hunter?

2013-02-01T10:55:00.000-08:00

"And there is no greater waste than a man spend his entire life on the field planting corn to eat. Then one day his body does not respond anymore and he lies down waiting for death to come."

From Don Juan Teachings, Carlos Castaneda.

In his teachings Don Juan spoke constantly of the warrior and the hunter who must have an impeccable spirit accumulating personal power.

Then this personal power is used at the right time and with the right measure, without "abusing the world," that is, without taking more than you need.

The farmer

The farmer is the consumer who works just to eat. In our modern world we are much like that: Working for a paycheck watching the hours pass by, just to pay the monthly bills.

As we always "hunger" for material things, we work to "eat" (buy more things) and accumulate more. And so we run all the time.
We complain that prices rise and taxes too, and that politicians are corrupt and how bad this world is.

We join all kinds of protest movements thinking that we are not like the other sheep. But we do not move a finger to give motivation to our everyday life and change. We do not like changes, change of territory, or change of customs.

Until one day the body does not respond anymore and we just wait for retirement to come.

The hunter

The hunter kills only when he is hungry (buys things only when needed) and has no schedules.

Image courtesy of [Poulsen Photo] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The hunter instinct moves him. He knows where ad when hi next victim will pass by (knows how to seize the best opportunities and take advantage of them).

The hunter travels light and buys few things, but they are valuable and useful things that help him to move forward.

He likes discovering new territories and finding new partners and friends, though there are not that much people were he is.

The hunter is not waiting for retirement to come, because he gets what he he wants when he needs it.
He already provides for the future knowing that his future wellbeing depends only on himself.

... The art of a hunter is becoming inaccessible. Being inaccessible means to touch as little as possible the world around you. And this does not mean hiding or walk with secrets. Nor does it mean that you can not deal with people ... A hunter does not have routines ...

... The life of a warrior can not possibly be cold and lonely and without feelings, because it is based on his affection, his devotion, his dedication to his beloved one: the Earth ...

... Feeling important makes one heavy, dumb and vain. To be a warrior one needs to be light and fluid ...

... A warrior takes responsibility for his actions. Even the most trivial. An average man never takes responsibility for what he does ...

(More quotes from Don Juan)

And you, are you a farmer or a hunter?

What to Do When you don’t Get a Raise

2013-01-27T15:03:00.003-08:00

In normal conditions your salary should be reviewed at least once a year. You know, the cost of living rises, your responsibilities increase, etc..
And maybe after several years of hard work and dedication to your company you've never got a raise.
Did you ask for it? And what happened?
Let me tell you that if your income has not increased, something goes wrong with your company.

Change what you need to change

We know that we should not work only for money and that we should work to learn and progress. Today at the end of the industrial age and with new technologies dawn, to stagnate is a real danger.

Do always keep your sword sharpened, for you and your company. Mostly for you. Find the necessary training and progress.
Plan your work in advance, think and act wisely, correct all that should be corrected.
To find the good answers you need to meditate about the good questions.
If your work is routine, analyze what happens around you and learn.
You are not part of the robotic race that always works without questioning anything, running after the carrot as with the rats race.
If you have good ideas and no one listens to them and time proves you were right, maybe you should change and find a more receptive environment to work.

Raise your salary yourself

I've written a lot about working for yourself and I firmly believe on it. Having a personal project gives you inspiration, motivation and money.
After all, if you are your own boss you decide what will be your salary, eh?
And you'd be living a beautiful experience in your life that changes your present and surely your future.
It is the experience of being the creator of your life and your own source of income.
With a project B, while you have no choice but to continue with the project A of working for someone else, you'll be forming and preparing exactly for what you need.
Your project B will begin to bear fruit soon.
And your project B will be soon your project A.
If you're only earning 10 euros per month, this is a start, a seed and proof that you can make 100, or 1000, or 10,000 euros in the future.
In those 10, 50 or 100 euros per month, money comes directly from you, your ideas and the work you have done for yourself, something you're passionate about.

If you don’t get a raise, do not wait, do not despair, and raise your salary yourself.
Think and act like a manager, keep on going on, you have nothing to lose and everything to win.
What do you think?

Photo by: James Brauer

Learn How to Spend

2013-01-24T13:58:00.004-08:00

Yes, you read that correctly: learn how to spend. After having written so many articles on how to save money, energy, bills, fees, now I know that have to learn how to spend.

Now that you're out of debt and you finally started your investment plan, do you feel guilty when you buy something, ?

I think is mostly prudence after all that time with such financial problems and lack of money, you don’t want to repeat that.

Money has to flow

Now you've learned to control spenses and through your online banking account you watch what it happens with money to avoid surprises at the end of the month.
Money is something you need to take care about and watch, that’s something we’ve learned.
And with no debt and more cash, how to spend money?

Acquire things that represent value and quality over time

I have watched the rich spend money, well, I know some rich people and I’ve read about some others.
They don’t go around “burning” the credit card to fill the house with things that they don’t need. Some live in a minimalist style, in a house with few objects and lots of place to think, walk and relax the eyes on an empty space.
But when they buy something, is really valuable and lasting. they are not merely consumers that buy useless things because they need to fill a void.

Learn how to reward yourself

You've made lots of efforts and gone a long way to straighten your finances and now it is time to receive.
Extreme frugality is not forever, but you have to plan your purchases as you planned your expenses so far. Without obsessions, of course, I am speaking in a general way.
Maybe you'd like to make a great journey, one that you will remember forever, to a distant country where you forget time and spend a long vacation period.
This is something that requires preparation, and will be better than 15 day of summer vacation in the same old town.
Some feel guilty because they have bought a video game console, a smartphone, a new car, etc. .. All this is fine but not if you have to borrow and ask for credits to pay it all.

Do not buy worthless stuff, buy less frequently but buy things of value, good things.

Learn how to reward others

Think big and think also about giving to others, it is the wisest way to have a continuous flow of money, something that the great American millionaires have learned well and that is why they do so many altruist things:
Because thy’ve learnt that part of the money they’ve earned has to go back where it came from.
How do you spend money?

Fear, our Faithful Friend

2013-01-22T13:23:00.002-08:00

Fear is the fear of losing love.

When I was a child and I wouldn’t finish my meal they told me often: "Finish your food if you don’t want the bogeyman to come and get you."

This form of terrorizing small children to make them do things has its version in many countries, but the biggest fear of a child is losing love.

And that fear of losing the affection and love made me a quiet and obedient girl. Well, being quiet is part of my character in general, be obedient, not that much.

Therefore fear became a faithful friend, it followed me through the other stages of life and those inner fears were reflected in some facts of my life, like when those around you want to convince you not to do something for fear to failure.

Fear is the fear of change

And it is a contagious disease, so they actually advise you to do so and so because they are afraid themselves, especially afraid of losing comfort and afraid of facing any changes to never venture out of established routines.

Fear is a lie

Image courtesy of dreamstime.com

The media knows very well how to feed you with ideas of being afraid of yourself and your body (disease), fear of not receiving the retirement pay (poverty), fear of war, of violence ..

But the biggest lie is to fear yourself, when we said that we are afraid and we decided not to listen to ourselves and see what we really need, to see if our life is in line with our deeper desires.

And we prefer to take refuge in our everyday work, in compulsive shopping, stimulants and whatever.

Fear is a sign

And with all this, fear has a purpose and has a message: we are saying that all actions or thoughts that come from fear are not accurate and that something has to change.

Take full responsibility

It is the only answer. You know that the bogeyman is an invention, you know that war and violence exist, but how many real murders have you seen around you?

You know that there are people living on less than you need, but you are rich compared to them.

You know that there are always somebody who is wrong at work and someone could do it better: that someone is you.

If you change jobs or get out of your work to work for yourself, what could happen? Well, you would see that it is you who decides what to do with your life and you have a great opportunity to improve things.

Take a new attitude

What if you change your attitude? Suppose you meet a new friend, you feel good in his or her company, and inspires you when you hear him/her you think that things are going to work out for you.

This friend helps you to look at yourself directly with all the tenderness and sincerity of the world to see what you have to change, to comfort you and support you.

You would not take a step without consulting with this friend and since you’ve got this new friendship you have been slowly forgetting fear, that old faithful friend.

And also your outer world is changing, reflecting a new attitude in your relationship with others, because your new friend told you watch less TV and movies and look for inspirational readings, for the contact with nature.
And you dare to create your world, then you have every right to change your reality and it is a pleasure.

You might guess the name of your new friend now: trust. And to have it always with you is as easy as making the right choice when talking to yourself.

If we all work to create a new oasis the desert will disappear .

How are your conversations?