Happy new year to you! I trust you’re already off to a great start of the year. If not, no worries. You still have some time to adjust, plan and refocus on how to make 2020 your best year ever. Enjoy this issue of my weekly top 5 and please remember to share this with everyone in your network:
1. You’re Either Paying Interest Or Losing Interest
Many people pride themselves in paying cash for everything and think they are getting ahead financially, but are they really getting ahead? When it comes to how we use our money, we typically fall into one of three groups of people: debtors, savers, and maximizers.
Debtors do not save. They start at zero, earn income, spend it all to fund their lifestyle. When there is an emergency for a necessary purchase, they borrow and go into a negative position (Debt). They use earned income to repay debt plus interest until they get back to zero position. When another emergency comes up, they repeat the cycle.
Savers start at zero, earn income, accumulate money in a savings account. When there is an emergency for a necessary purchase, they use their savings and then get back to zero position. When they use their savings for a purchase, they lose interest because of opportunity costs. Then they start accumulating and saving again. When another emergency comes up, they repeat the cycle.
Maximizers are like savers as they accumulate earned income to save and invest. When there is an emergency for a necessary purchase, they use their savings as collateral to borrow the funds for the purchase. By doing this, they maximize the use of their funds in the most efficient way by not interrupting the compounded growth of their savings/investments.
In conclusion, regardless of which group you fall into, we all finance everything we purchase. You either pay interest by purchasing with a loan/credit, or you lose interest you could have earned by paying with cash. However, by optimizing the way you use money, you can be more efficient and get ahead of the savers and debtors.
2. Simple Is Not Easy…
This month, my wife and I and a few other friends started the 75 Hard challenge. If you recall from my last issue, it’s a challenge where you have to complete the following simple activities daily:
■ Follow a diet.
■ This can be the diet of your choice, but it must be a structured plan designed with a physical improvement in mind.
■ You must complete two 45-minute workouts.
■ One of those workouts MUST be outdoors.
■ Absolutely NO alcohol or cheat meals.Take a progress picture every day.
■ Drink 1 gallon of water.
■ Read 10 pages of a book. **Audiobooks DO NOT COUNT.
After successfully completing 5 days of the challenge so far, I can say that…“simple is not necessarily easy”. To be successful, you need to stay organized and to have a system in place to track your activities. The challenge is certainly living up to its name and we will keep grinding it out for the next 70 days. The 75 Hard challenge is a transformative mental toughness program designed to help you develop the discipline you need to win in life. A successful completion of this challenge will 100X your confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, self-belief, fortitude and grittiness. 75 Hard is a FREE challenge and you can learn more about the challenge here. And why not consider starting it today?
3. Do You Have Your 2022 Plans Now? It’s Not Too Late Yet To Get Started…
Time flies…before you know it, it will be February! If you’ve not started or finalized your plans for the year, you still have time to put that in place to set yourself up for success in 2022. In the uncertainties that we live in today, it is vitally important to have some goals and financial plans in place. Recently, I shared a special report on how to make 2022 your best year ever. If you’ve not seen it yet I encourage you to download this special report and discover a simple 4-step framework for goal achievement that will get you to shift your focus from your limitations today to the possibilities in the future. Get the report here.
4. Let Me Help You Get Ahead In 2022
If you’re looking to accelerate your results in 2022, particularly with optimizing taxes, building more cash flow, improving your business or simply elevating your personal financial situation, I encourage you to consider working with me. As I’ve shared in the past, it’s so tempting to think we know it all. We want to figure things out ourselves. We want to go on the journey solo, not realizing that we can only go so far. Whether it is our pride or ignorance, we hurt ourselves when we don’t seek help from those that have accomplished what we want to accomplish. If you’re looking to achieve a major breakthrough or to simply go further faster, I invite you to consider coaching. Check out my FAST Results Coaching Program to see what potential benefits you can get from coaching. And for those that like to taste and see, you can book a FREE Coaching Session with me here to get a taste of the potential results you can get from coaching.
5. Tax-Deferred Is Not The Same As Tax-Free
This is often misunderstood. To be clear, “tax-deferred” does not mean the same thing as “tax-free.” Tax-deferred is something that must eventually have taxes paid on it. On the other hand, tax-free will not need any tax payments made. I discuss the differences in this short article here. And if you want further details on this and how you can take advantage of the tax code to accumulate both tax-free and tax-efficient wealth, then I encourage you to get a copy of my book, Tax-Efficient Wealth.
