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Which one sounds harder to you?
1. Work hard. Pay 50% in taxes. Save what is left.
Your savings then earn 5%, which is also taxed.
OR
2. Take the time to develop your financial intelligence
Harness the power of your brain and the asset column.
If you use option number one, be sure to factor in how much
time it takes you to save $190,000. Time is one of your greatest assets.
Now you may understand why I silently shake my head when
I hear parents say, “My child is doing well in school and receiving
a good education.” It may be good, but is it adequate?
I know the above investment strategy is a small one. It is used
to illustrate how small can grow into big. Again, my success reflects
the importance of a strong financial foundation, which starts with
a strong financial education.
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I have said it before, but it’s worth repeating. Financial intelligence
is made up of these four main technical skills:
1. Accounting
Accounting is financial literacy, or the ability to read
numbers. This is a vital skill if you want to build
businesses or investments.
2. Investing
Investing is the science of money making money.
3. Understanding markets
Understanding markets is the science of supply and
demand Alexander Graham Bell gave the market what it
wanted. So did Bill Gates. A $75,000 house offered for
$60,000 that cost $20,000 was also the result of seizing
an opportunity created by the market. Somebody was
buying, and someone was selling.
4. The law
The law is the awareness of accounting corporate, state and
federal regulations. I recommend playing by the rules.
It is this basic foundation, or the combination of these skills,
that is needed to be successful in the pursuit of wealth, whether it be
through the buying of small homes, apartment buildings, companies,
stocks, bonds, precious metals, baseball cards, or the like.
A few years later, the real estate market rebounded and everyone
else was getting in. The stock market was booming, and everyone
was getting in. The U.S. economy was getting back on its feet. I
began selling and was now traveling to Peru, Norway, Malaysia, and
the Philippines. The investment landscape had changed. We were no
longer buying real estate. Now I just watch the values climb inside
the asset column and will probably begin selling. I suspect that some
of those six little house deals will sell and the $40,000 note will be
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105
converted to cash. I need to call my accountant to be prepared for
cash and seek ways to shelter it.
The point I would like to make is that investments come and go.
The market goes up and comes down. Economies improve and crash.
The world is always handing you opportunities of a lifetime, every day
of your life, but all too often we fail to see them. But they are there. And
the more the world changes and the more technology changes, the more
opportunities there will be to allow you and your family to be financially
secure for generations to come.
So why bother developing your financial intelligence? Again, only
you can answer that. I know why I continue to learn and develop. I do
it because I know there are changes coming. I’d rather welcome change
than cling to the past. I know there will be market booms and market
crashes. I want to continually develop my financial intelligence because,
at each market change, some people will be on their knees begging
for their jobs. Others, meanwhile, will take the lemons that life hands
them—and we are all handed lemons occasionally—and turn them into
millions. That’s financial intelligence.
I am often asked about the lemons I have turned into millions.
I hesitate using many more examples of personal investments because
I am afraid it comes across as bragging or tooting my own horn.
That is not my intention. I use the examples only as numerical
and chronological illustrations of actual and simple cases. I use the
examples because I want you to know that it is easy. And the more
familiar you become with the four pillars of financial intelligence, the
easier it becomes.
Personally, I use two main vehicles to achieve financial growth:
real estate and small-cap stocks. I use real estate as my foundation.
Day in and day out, my properties provide cash flow and occasional
spurts of growth in value. The small-cap stocks are used for fast growth.
I do not recommend anything that I do. The examples are just
that—examples. If the opportunity is too complex and I do not
understand the investment, I don’t do it. Simple math and common
sense are all you need to do well financially.
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