Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Money really matters, Why? – Five Factiods

August 13th, 2010 Vijaianand

When I was choosing the name for this website, I thought different and various possible names. Finally, I ended up with money really matters because I really made sense. Money really matters to every human being in this world. Don’t you think?
 

Money really matters to our livelihood.  It  obviously matters to each and every one of us to exist in this world. We all want a money tree or Duck laying golden eggs. But, let me rephrase with a caveat. It is not only that matters for our life. In our life many important things matters like family, friends, love, joy, fun and much more. “Life shouldn’t be printed on dollar bills“, said by Clifford Odets. socialist.  I totally agree but those bills surely brings and binds it all together. Let me share 5 factoids which I came up, why Money really matters to each and every one us.

Fact #1: The Life Supporter




Money is our life support like breathing to our body. Without taking breath, human cannot survive. Similarly one cannot survive without money in this earth. It helps to satisfy our essentials, needs and wants.  Zig Ziglar, an American author and motivational speaker once said, Money isn’t the most important thing in life, but it’s reasonably close to oxygen on the “gotta have it” scale. 


 


Fact #2: The Driving Force

Money is the driver behind all our lives. Almost every one of us wake up every morning and run to work or to their business just to make buck or more so all can live our lives and take care of our family.  It is the driving force but you are the driver behind the wheels. Don’t ever make the money drive you crazy.  Robert Orben, famous magician and comedy writer once said, “Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America.  If I’m not there, I go to work“.


Fact #3: The Problem Creator & Solver

Finally, Money  is the problem creator and as well the solution for it. Studies in many countries have shown that the main reason for breakup in relationship or divorce is money. It is the force behind your muscle which need to be controlled and never let it give a loose punch. “Money is neither my god nor my devil.  It is a form of energy that tends to make us more of who we already are, whether it’s greedy or loving”  said by Dan Millman, former Tramphilon world champion athlete, college professor

Fact #4: The Dream Enabler

Money is the enabler of our dreams. It helps to reach our life financial goals which leads to personal growth. When you set a timeline to your dreams, it becomes goals. When you pave the way to achieve them, you draft a plan. When you implement your plans to get to your goals by taking action, it becomes a milestone or success. Money many times helps you get to your dreams whether its a dream vacation to visit 7 wonders or buying a home.


Fact #5: The Social Signature

Money gives you a strong signature in the society to show your status. If you say, you are millionaire or billionaire. You are surely going to good reception in society. Having a luxury car, bigger home or beach house really adds up to your image. Money identifies you and me to this world whether by categorizing as middle class, lower, higher or upper middle class. 

But Mr. Warren Buffet, one of richest man in the world said, “Of the billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars.” It is that simple.

So money really matters to us but you decide how it actually matters to you. Whether to you shape your life or actually start a life. What is your factiod about Money? Share with us..

Image sources: universityofvirgina.com, newbeetleclub.com
Quote sources: quotegarden.com,brainyquote.com

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Millionaires – Myths and Misconceptions

July 29th, 2010 Vijaianand

For the last two post, we have been talking and sharing lot about Millionaires and their mindset. Particularly in the previous post, I have listed few questions which was asked by friends and even asked myself many times. So I wanted to dwelve into those questions and crack some myths and misconceptions about Millionaires from research/study.


Let’s start with something simple.


#1. I have to become a millionaire/rich person to live happily.


That is not true but many think that way. If you ask me, that’s a misconception by many people. It became ingrained in many people minds after looking at rich people,  that they can live happily once they become a millionaire/billionaire or rich person. 

One person’s success in life shouldn’t be all about money and how much he/she makes. It is just a part of the puzzle. It is mostly about how you live with what you make and how you help others to get what they want.Studies have for years shown that cash has only a small effect on our well being.  One can still  lead a miserable even after getting a windfall of money and there are many examples to prove that case.


#2. Millionaires are lavish spenders.

That’s totally wrong. If you take Mr.Warren Buffet, he is one among the richest people in the world but he still lives in his old house. He drives his own car which is pretty old too. There are many other rich who lead a conservative and frugal life. Many new millionaires are true frugalers and made to the list by saving and conscious spending. Not everyone makes to millionaire list by winning a lottery. You should check out the book, frugal millionaires(http://www.thefrugalmillionaires.com) and you will understand how millionaires think differently than normal person.



#3. I will be financially free when I  become a Millionaire.

Don’t count on it not in this current economic situation and expected high inflated one in the future. These days, simply being a (one) millionaire is not enough to be financially free, depending on ones age. Financial freedom is totally independent of being rich person. Not all rich people call themselves financially free. Here is an interesting reportfrom study conducted by Universty of Belgium, UK and  Canada about Wealth and well being. Actually money makes you financially dependent. When you have more money, you become more dependent on it for everything and anything.


#4. Only men are up against Million dollar goal.

According to a report, nearly half of all millionaires are all women. There is no big difference among Men or women when it comes to making millions. Here is the listof women billionaires all over the world.


#5. You need to have Millionaire Mindset to be a Millionaire.

Not entirely true but it helps to reach the goal quicker. You can ask, What is millionaire mindset? It is explained in detail in the best selling book wrote by famous network marketer Bob Protector. He shows how an ordinary person can create his/her own economy by using their mind and thought process. You can read more at free ebook copy.  I also found this ezinearticleto be more precise and short. To be short, it is about fine tuning your act and mind to decide your own the destiny and move towards as the only goal. I don’t truely follow up them since I believe in my simple 3P strategy, Plan, Persist and Perseverance.  


#6. I really need a Millionaire goal to be successful.

Not actually. It depends on each individual. Every individual is different in their own approach but many analyst recommend having a higher goal can lead to higher success rate. As I said earlier, success in life is different for each individual and it doesn’t have to measured in dollars.  Sometimes it is fun to track numbers and dollars to see the progress. But most of the time, it is about pride to say that you are one among list of High networth individual in this world.


Also tracking Many experts from their real life example, “What gets tracked, gets improved?” If you don’t track your progress, you won’t know where you were and where are you now. Tracking the progress is an important part for financial advancement.


#7. Everyone can’t become a Millionaire.


Why not? If school drop outs like Bill gates, David Mudrock(Dole foods CEO) can do it, you can too.  You don’t need an MBA or doctor to be a Millionaire. Here is the list of all drop out millionaires,  and here is one from forbes 2010 list of top ten drop outs.


If this makes you feel better and get you working on your Million dollar goal, go for it.

I have unrevealed some myths about millionaires, now you might ask how can easily become a millionaire?

It is actually a million dollar question and nobody has silver bullet answer for this question. If I had known the exact answer, I would have been a millionaire by now. Obviously, you cannot be a millionaire overnight unless two things happens, winning lottery or waking up with million dollar idea. There are “n” number of ways to become a high networth individual(over 1million).

A very conservative approach many banks suggest is to save a particular dollar amount from your early age like 21 every month and you can be a millionaire when you are 60 years old. It is also not set in stone because it depends on factors like saving rate and economical condition. But there are other ways like starting a new business, inventing some new product, work on multiple investment strategies etc., 

Just hook on to a strategy which works for you according to your comfort level and keep at it. Don’t give up, just keep trying…

Image source: westLoh.com

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I want to become a Millionaire…

July 16th, 2010 Vijaianand

Last blog post was an article from Trak.in about “India’s Millionaires” and how the number got doubled last year even with all the economical uncertainity. I decided to continue the topic by writing about Millionaire Mindset and evaluating my own goal of becoming High Networth Individual (HNW).

I remember a funny saying, “You can easily get rich in two ways, by birth or by marriage.” First one is obviously not in your hands but second option is feasible if you are confident about your people skills. But if you are a believer of  yourself, there are better ways. Things took a new turn especially during the dot com era and people mentality started dreaming on high places. Thats the same timeframe when “Who wants to be  a Millionaire?” show started airing and creating buzz all about becoming a millionaires. It surely boosted the moral of many individuals to aim big particularly many entreprenuers in the middle class.

Following the hit of the show and dot com era, many millionaires made news more often than ever and millionaires list started growing. According to the “World Wealth Report” which is a report on individuals with a net worth of at least $1 million in all assets except their primary residence. In the World Wealth Report 2007 – “The 11th annual World Wealth Report from Merrill Lynch/Capgemini finds the World’s High Net Worth (HNW) population growing to 9.5 million with their assets rising to $37.2 trillion.

Talk about becoming a Millionaire was everywhere in the internet. Many self made millionaires called themselves as gurus and grabbed the chance to preach their very own mantras via seminars and books. To name a few, Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosoki and more… But recently due to economy crash, investment values plummented and many millionaires dropped from the list.  “The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more, not including first homes, fell by 2.5 million to 6.7 million in 2008, according to the Spectrum Group report, as reported by Reuters. As of 2009, there were 2,886,200 HNWI’s in United states. 

Even after seeing the uncertainity of market, job losses and economy struggle, millionaire fire continues to live on among many brave souls. Whether I consider myself as a one among wannabe millionaires or it is just one of my goals, I strongly feel it is a challenging goal to have in your list. It is surely not a easy task for any one especially a guy like me who came from middle class indian family. But it is an achievable target for any hard working individual.

If there is a WILL, there is always a WAY to reach it.  Whether you choose to work hard in your profession, spend less and save more or putting money on different invest vehicles or trying to invent new business ideas or products like iPhone or Joined MLM network, every route has got challenges and worth trying it out.

First thing I did was started tracking my progress by updating networth every month towards my goal to become millionaire in 2015. It really helps me to put things in perspective like where I was, where I am now, know periodic progress and what I need to do move forward in my journey.

Being a hardcore wannabe Millionaire, many times I asked myself number of questions like,

Is the Millionaire goal truely worth it?
Do I have to become a millionaire to live happily?
Why do you need to have Millionaire goal?
Can I have my Financial Freedom when I become Millionaire?
Does only men are up against Million dollar goal?
What is Millionaire Mindset?
Are Millionaires lavish spenders?

Are some things just myths about being a Millionaire or real truth? I plan to dwelve more into these questions in my next post. If you have any questions like above, please share your thoughts and views.

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