Put The Psychology of Wealth on Your Reading List Immediately

& ENTER TO WIN A COPY OF THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WEALTH HERE. Contest ends May 15.

“Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all.” by Norman Vincent Peale as quoted in the Psychology of Wealth

At the risk of sounding self aggrandizing, when I was contacted by the marketing department at McGraw Hill Publishing to review this book, I assumed it would be a boring rehash of everything I already knew. Having read a multitude of finance, personal finance, and psychology texts, I thought I knew pretty much everything on the subject.

Charles Richards, PhD, author of The Psychology of Wealth

I WAS WRONG

Quick Recap of The Psychology of Wealth

Based on research, anecdotes, and and personal experience, Dr. Richards accomplished a very difficult task. He took the breadth of wealth, psychology, mindfulness,  and money management fields and integrated them into an inspiring and informative book. Richards starts out with a definition of wealth, and it’s integration with self esteem.

Wealth has less to do with money and more to do with personal responsibility, risk taking, achievement, and determination.

Don’t let me suggest that this book has a pollyannaish approach. On the contrary, the role of debt and wealth is front and center, yet there is so much more.

The central concept of The Psychology of Wealth is that wealth and poverty are both states of mind. This singular statement reifies both the simplicity and complexity coexisting in this book.

How Your Life Will Improve from Reading The Psychology of Wealth

If you really consume this book and take the messages to heart, here are some outcomes you can expect;

An awareness of how your family operating system programs your beliefs, attitudes, skills, anxieties and expectations and contributes to your life satisfaction.

How to get beyond the awareness of your background, and use it to overcome any negative messages about wealth, success, and prosperity. Get inspired by real life stories of people from difficult backgrounds who transcended lack of financial wealth and prospered.

For example, Leticia manifested a sense of abundance which led to great personal success, in spite of an impoverished upbringing. Her family had little money, yet her father ingrained a sense of value by focusing not on Leticia’s appearance but upon her accomplishments and intelligence. He helped her to understand that the tiny size of their family home did not define her.

Learn the true meaning of money. Currency, another word for money, represents transferring cash for services or work. In and of itself, money is without value. So many folks focus on the magic “number” to signify their financial status. It is a fact that money is only a means of barter to help you buy goods and services.

According to Dr. Richards, “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”

Giving back is another familiar concept in the wealth literature, but Richards take on this subject can be summarized by one quote,

“The psychology of wealth requires trusting that, no matter what happens, we will have enough.”

The story of Donald Trump stopping his limousine on the way to a speaking engagement to give advice and encouragement to a bevy of young people clamoring for his attention is a perfect example of the types of stories Richard’s interweaves to enliven his prose.

Chapter 7, “Living Consciously” discusses the popular living in the moment concept. Have you considered this concept in relation to debt? The book links conscious living to conscious debt and offers a rich rubric for the debt decision-making process. Carry the living consciously concept into every corner of your life and you will master the psychology of wealth.

The book is so rich with anecdotes, advice, and action steps, I want to savor every page. It’s not often that a money book is so satisfying.

It’s difficult to find a criticism with the book, but in order to be evenhanded, following is my one complaint; the seamless integration of money and life fulfillment concepts makes me sorry that I didn’t write the book myself .

Enter to WIN a free copy of the Psychology of Wealth, by signing up for my Wealth Tips Newsletter. Let me know that you signed up for the newsletter in the comments section please.

You’ll even get a free bonus eBook of my award winning 20 Minute Guide to Investing, just for signing up. The winner will be chosen on May 15 and will be selected at random.

Don’t believe my review? Read what other personal finance bloggers are saying about The Psychology of Wealth

• Financial Samurai
• Retireby40
• Enemy of Debt
• Balance Junkie
• CNBC review by Dr. Richards

Stop by next time and read The Secrets of Wealth an inspiring 2 part interview with the author, Dr. Charles Richards.

How does your mind impact your feelings of wealth or lack thereof?

How can someone who doesn’t even have the old iPad make such a bold claim? Because I am interested in your net worth and want you to get wealthy!

If money is no object in your life and you are loaded, you can stop reading NOW. Or if your planned splurge is the new iPad, who am I to judge?

The iPad is Here! Now, when will the next iPad arrive?

For the rest of you, here is why you do not need a new iPad.

They are really expensive and less functional than a much cheaper laptop.

 According to Computerworld, “the Wi-Fi models run $499, $599 and $699 for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB tablets, respectively; the 4G device is priced at $629, $729 and $829.”

I was happy to read in the comments section of the Computerworld article other readers echoing my thoughts. Here’s a paraphrase of one of many similar remarks;

“For the spec Hounds that want USB, Full Size HDMI, etc etc. there’s a great product on the market it’s called a…………………………Laptop, Pick up 2 along with Your choice of an Android Tablet, you will get all the ports, software and an Open OS. GOOD LUCK”

This commenter at Computerworld had the same take that I did. Maybe there is something to the idea of delaying the push for the newest and most popular gadget.

Be Strong and Don’t Let Advertisers Define You

I know what it’s like being swayed by advertisers. After watching an episode of Shark Tank, the reality show where wealthy business people help struggling entrepreneurs with an infusion of cash in exchange for equity in their company, I started to feel like I wasn’t doing enough. After all, I’m not a billionaire on television bidding for a piece of new companies. I don’t even have a fabulous niche product that could benefit from a financial partnership with Barbara Corcoran or Mark Cuban.

So what!

But that is the power of advertising, television, and the internet. Watch out for the influences that are omnipresent in your world.

Take the time to evaluate who and what is causing you to feel as if you do not have enough.

If you have a computer and a television and a phone, do you need more ways to connect? Okay, I get it, some people travel all the time and their jobs require constant access, and a laptop is too heavy and a phone too limiting. If this is your situation, then I’m not talking to you.

For the rest of you out there, force yourself out of the world of “comparisons.” There will always be someone with more than you. As soon as you buy the newest iPad, within a few months there will be a newer and better one.

Attitude Adjustment

Here’s my favorite trick for coping with the “Poor me, I don’t have the coolest of everything syndrome.” Switch your attention from what you lack to what you have. I suspect that if you spent a few minutes listing all the wonderful technology within your grasp, you’ll realize you have abundance.

Most of you have access to these technologies:

• Computer
• Phone
• Television
• MP3 player
• Camera
• Video camera
• Gaming System
• Incredible software and applications to go along with the gadgets

Actually, I have almost (oops, I lost the MP3 player) all of the above, plus an extra desktop computer. So, am I a hypocrite telling you not to get the new iPad? Most of my technology items would be considered by the experts as “obsolete.” None of the above are in any way “new” and the video camera and television must be more than five years old. My theory, if it still works, why replace it?

Action Steps

Get a notebook and label it: “(your name) Personal Finance” and keep it by the computer. Use it for all of your personal finance thoughts, activities, and plans.

Make a conscious decision before running after the latest and greatest gadget. Is it worth sacrificing your long term financial goals; college, family, retirement, vacations, home ownership and more? Most folks don’t have enough money to buy everything they want.

Be deliberate in how you allocate your precious financial resources.

1. Make a pros and cons list next time you feel you must have some new item or tech treat.
2. Analyze whether the reward of purchase exceeds the cost.

 What Others are Saying

Do I Need an IPad? at Wealth Informatics

The “Wow Factor,” Do You Overpay for it? at Money Crashers

Apple IPhone and Google Android; Who’s Winning Market Share at Financial Success for Young Adults

I Didn’t Buy and IPad and I’m Proud of it at Prairie Eco Thrifter

Barb Across the Web

• Best of Money Carnival at Fiscal Phoenix (selected 1 of 10 out of 82 submissions)
• Carnival of Financial Camraderie at My University Money
•  Self Directed Investing for Retirement Carnival at Arbor Investment Planner
•  101 Centavos; a Fistful of Links
• Meal Plan Rescue Round up
•  My Care One; Straight Talk on Debt

Do you really need the new ipad?

image credit; znet.com

As I am updating our personal portfolio and working on the work portfolio I manage, I wondered, “Is Money the Only Measure of Success?” Look, I understand we all espouse a variety of success measures. These are a few success traits I value:

How to be a Success

• Contributing member of society
• Good parent, neighbor, and friend
• Philanthropist
• Community volunteer
• Faithful employee
• Accomplished athlete

Do you think those who earn more are more successful?

At Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance I promote self reflection and living in accord with one’s personal values. For example, which is more important; planning a fun day with your family at a local park or event or spending that day working to earn extra income? There’s no correct answer. This is a decision I struggle with all of the time.

I love to work and I value earning extra money. Yet, spending time with my family is the most important activity for me. But I must confess that sometimes my actions don’t exemplify my purported values.

Time is Finite

There is one certainty, time is finite. Once it’s gone, there is no more. Couple that with the fact that no one knows how long they will live, and these realities underscore the importance of spending one’s moments fruitfully.

I don’t have the answer to whether money is the only measure of success nor what is the best use of one’s time.

I resolve it by attempting to balance work, leisure, time with family, and time on hobbies.

I’m certain that this balancing act confronts most adults. In fact, just a few minutes ago I found an email in my inbox from Darren Rowse of Problogger fame offering a new book with the title Blog Wise: How to do More with Less. Although tempted to purchase, I realized there really is no secret message for productivity and success.

Yet, returning to the start of this post, while updating our portfolios I began to mentally project some of our annual income; I have a new teaching contract coming up at a local university, El Carino started his new job, and I expect to make some money blogging. How much is enough? Is the marginal time spent earning a buck more important than a precious afternoon with my family? Personally, after a certain level of income is reached, the answer is; the best use of my time is to spend the time with my family!

Multiple Measures of Success

Yet the pursuit of an answer to, “How do you measure success?” continues to interest me. The research intertwines the importance of finding one’s purpose in life, having control, and making a contribution with feelings of personal success. In reality, these fundamental human desires may or may not result in financial wealth. Think about the single mom social worker with a few kids. It’s unlikely she’s swimming in extra cash, but she is definitely making a contribution to the betterment of society.  If she helps place a child in a good home, she’s a true success. The community volunteer is working for the betterment of society, without remuneration. The mom who coaches the kids soccer team and the dad who helps with homework each night are successful within the family and helping the greater good as well.

In a broader sense, every job makes a contribution. And doing one’s job enthusiastically and competently can make you a success in any area. Society needs successful trash collectors, school teachers, accountants, and plumbers. When a pipe bursts, you value and appreciate a plumber more than a highly paid company president or wealthy movie actor.

More Readings on Success

• In Cooking to Financial Success, Andi of Modern Tightwad talks about success in her guest post at Prarie Eco Thrifter
• The Canadian Financial Blog reiterates that Financial Success Comes from Working Harder
• The Clutter that Kills Your Success in Business and in Life from The Smashing Entrepreneur
• Financial Success for Young Adults is all about helping the younger set prevail

Barb across the Blogosphere

Totally Money Carnival at Control Your Cash

Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money

 How do you measure success? Do you value money over other factors?

image credit; google images; luisgalarza.blogspot.com

Sign up on right to get free WEALTH TIP’s Newsletter, and FREE bonus eBook; 20 Minute Guide to Investing!

This article is a revision of a guest article I wrote last April at Everyday Tips and Thoughts

There’s a plethora of writing about how more stuff leads to more work. Get something new, first figure out how it works, then maintain it, and finally, fix it when it breaks.

Who wants more work?

In a previous article I wrote a controversial piece about Why I Don’t Want an IPad. In that article, I compared the

MORE TECHNOLOGY PLEASE?

functionality of my laptop with an IPad and proved how superior the laptop is for my purposes.

MY CONFESSION:

My phone is a cheap old LG model. My plan, a $20.00 per month, no annual contract, Virgin bare bones with 400 minutes per month. And guess what, I use my phone to make and receive calls and an occasional text. That’s it. No internet surfing, game playing, movie watching etc. In fact, my work and blogging requires an inordinate amount of time on-line. For blogging, portfolio management, and everything else, I have a laptop and a desktop. Additionally, I’ve got video and digital cameras. And that’s enough for me.

RECENT VISIT TO BIG BOX ELECTRONICS RETAILER

In preparation for a conference call with Jason, of LiveRealNow, I purchased a webcam and speakers for my “bottom of the line” desktop computer. While in the store, I decided to get behind the buzz on the Amazon Fire eReader and the tablet computers. I was toying with the idea of putting one on my holiday gift list.

Here’s my Synopsis

The Amazon Fire is reasonably priced and good if you want an eReader that can also surf the net. With no USB port or word processing software, it’s of no use to me as I wanted a tool to do a bit of online writing and editing. Additionally, I’m so old shool, I read actual magazines and books!

On to the tablet computers. I checked out an Acer, due to the low price and recommendation of the sales person. What do you expect from a personal finance geek? It had a USB port and the availability to do some word processing along with all the other content viewing, game playing, and internet surfing options. But when I went to type on the keyboard, the sales person said you really need to type with only one or two fingers. Now that’s some slow typing.

The games I play are usually actual games like scrabble, rummykub, and trivial pursuit! I watch a real television. My computer work is done on computers. And, I don’t need access to any more technology when I’m out and about.

I actually try to experience life through real not virtual experiences!

I don’t need to be on-line with my phone either. I don’t need to check my email when I’m away from the computer. NOTHING IS THAT IMPORTANT!

This is one area where I’m going to be behind the curve.

TIME VERSUS MONEY

Look, I like technology as much as the next; can you say 2 Facebook pages (please LIKE me), twitter, LinkedIn, Quora, and all the other social media accounts. But when it comes down to my time and money, I weigh my options.

TIME-As I said before, I’m online too much as it is. Don’t need a phone, eReader, or tablet for that!

MONEY-Why should I pay upwards of $75.00 a month or more for a phone service that isn’t ultimately of value to me? I don’t need to shell out several hundred bucks for one more electronic gadget, that won’t improve my life and may up my stress level.

What do you think? Am I just a dinosaur or am I missing something really valuable from the new technology offerings?

Just out, you must read my latest Benzinga Brain Trust column, Advice for Investors, Informed by Ben Bernanke

Financially Consumed-10 Takeaways from the Financial Blogger Convention

Barb Across the Blogosphere

ACTION STEPS:

• Learn something new today.
• Practice what you learned to make it permanent.

For a quick overview of Investing Strategies, pick up my FREE eBook; 20 Minute Guide to Investing (top right of the page). If you like what you’re reading, sign up for my RSS feed or email subscription and follow me on twitter so you get the word immediately.

Just out, you must read my latest Benzinga Brain Trust column, Advice for Investors, Informed by Ben Bernanke

LIVE PERSONAL FINANCE LESSONS FROM  FINCON

These past 3 days I learned scores of tips from the top personal finance bloggers in the world and I want to must pass them on to you. I want you to live a wealthy life, personally and financially and I can help you do that. For the next week I am going to divulge a tip a day that, if taken, can lead you closer to your dream life.

Personally, I’m at a crossroads in my own life. I have more to do in my life than I can accomplish in the amount of time available. So, I’ll let you in on a secret, these tips are for me too, to help me organize my expanse of personal and financial aspirations.

Step back this week, and let’s work on our personal dreams and see if we can take a step closer to wealth in money and life.

TIP 1; You Can’t Do Everything, But You Must Do Something

“If you say yes to one thing, you automatically say no to another. And, conversely, if you say no to something, you free up time to say yes to something else.” Suze Orman

One of my favorite presentations was a top notch tutorial about “How to Create and Sell a Product” by Adam Baker of Man vs. Debt. Adam is a credible spokesperson as he completely transformed his life going from deep debt, selling everything, to a six figure income earned from his products.

Among his inventory of products is a multipart video series detailing how to get out of debt. His comprehensive advice included recommendations to poll your audience and test your ideas, basic market research so you are giving your audience what they want. He also talked about the psychology of pricing and how $99.00 is better than $100.00 and if you are going to charge $22.00, you can probably get the same amount of sales for a price of $29.00. The abundance of information went on and on. He is an awesome resource for Selling Your Crap and getting out of debt.

The presentation was awesome, products professional and high quality. And this system is a great money making opportunity for him. And, it reminded me that everyone has a niche. A niche is something you are great at for which people will pay! Although this was Adam’s niche and he was quite successful, and there were some excellent takeaways, the key message is this; INVENTORY YOURSELF and find your niche.

Carve out a few minutes, maybe during a break at work, or when the kids are napping, and think about your own situation.

• Do you have enough money?
• Do you have enough leisure time in your life to really enjoy yourself every day?

If not, realize that something has to change.

Here’s how to get started today.

ACTION STEPS:

Get a notebook and label it: “(your name) Personal Finance” and keep it by the computer. Use it to keep all of your personal finance goals, thoughts, activities, and plans.

Write out the answers to these questions:

1. What do you like about your money and lifestyle?
2. What do you want more of?
3. What do you want less of?
4. Write down 3 actions you need to take to better your situation.
5. Put in your planner how and when you are going to get started. (For example, if you’re in debt, visit Man vs. Debt; if you need to learn about investing visit Oblivious Investor and check out his blog and books.)
6. Get rid of the activities that won’t get you where you want to go.

Decide how you want to focus your own time and energy. Use what you read to inspire and motivate you to action on your own goals.
No one is excellent at everything, but everyone has a talent and a dream.

Stop by next time for Part 2, The Power of Networking.

And don’t miss Part 3, Learning from Others

For a quick overview of Investing Strategies, pick up my FREE eBook; 20 Minute Guide to Investing (top right of the page). If you like what you’re reading, sign up for my RSS feed or email subscription and follow me on twitter so you get the word immediately.

What is your success dream?

image credit; anshumm.com

Should I buy an investment property now?

I’m wrestling with a decision about whether to take on another potential money making endeavor. With interest rates at all time lows and lots of inventory at exceptional prices (in some parts of the country), I am wracked with indecision. I have been turning these decisions over in my mind ever since we drove across the country and saw beautiful brand new condos for sale in the low $100Ks in the well maintained college town of Provo, Utah. Add to that the weekly emails from a real estate contact filled with screaming bargains in Arizona. And I am rattled with the “should I or shouldn’t I” pursue this possibility?

Background; My Current Obligations

My job/family responsibilities are:

• Portfolio management job managing all the financial responsibilities and investments of my company. We are in the process of divesting many of our assets and responsibilities are diminishing.
• College adjunct professor; teach one Investment class two times per week in a local university.
• Blogger; Work way too many hours for minimal compensation writing and managing Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance.
• Columnist for Benzinga.com, occasional writer for American Media Marketplace, and other sites.
• Writer; Writing a book on personal finance which hopefully will be a raging success and bring me boatloads of cash .
• Spouse and mom; El Carino just took a new job which is quite demanding and I do a lot of stuff around the house. Jr. Carino is home and in transition as she plans out her next step.
• Volunteer; Expect to give some community time in our new area.
• Home; Still putting together and unpacking our new home from our epic cross country move. Need to cook, tidy, and exercise most days.
• Family financial management; Responsible for all family finances, investments, and decision-making.

Some of these responsibilities yield immediate compensation, some offer delayed compensation, others offer ways to increase monetary net worth, and others offer intrinsic rewards.

How do you measure their individual value?

Google Results

A quick google search, “time v money” turned up 6.3 BILLION results. Obviously, I’m  not the only one thinking about this topic. In fact, it looks like billions of individuals are dealing with these same quandries. Think Simple Now talks about “The Greatest Tragedy Ever; Time versus Money”. In this article I am reminded about the finiteness of time as well as a unique view of indentured/working time versus free time. Although for some of us, the distinction is not as clear. Shatter the Untemplate Lifestyle by Untemplater at Yakezie.com speaks about her decisions to live life on her own terms. Wisebread‘s Sarah Winfrey had another article on the Time versus Money issue with some thought provoking questions at the end. Finally, Miss T from Prairie Eco Thrifter wrote about “How to Choose a Life That Benefits the Greater Good” at Yakezie.com. As one who wants to give back more to society, this one struck a chord with me.

What Should I do?

While writing this article, I thought to myself, “I must be absolutely crazy to want to put something else on my plate!”

Something I forgot to mention, I watch television for an hour or two every night with my family and I go to bed relatively early. Realistically, if I take on  something else, I’m going to have to give something up! There are not enough hours in the day to do a decent job with all of my current obligations. And, I don’t want to give anything up. But, it’s not that simple, as I hate to pass up a potential opportunity to grow our family’s wealth.

I’m going back to the old “PROs versus CONS” worksheet to make my decision.

ACTION STEPS:

Get a notebook and label it: “(your name) Personal Finance” and keep it by the computer. Use it to keep all of your personal finance goals, thoughts, activities, and plans.

Faced with a big decision?

1. Get feedback from your family.
2. Pull out the old paper and pencil and make a Pros vs. Cons chart to help with the decision making process.

For a quick overview of Investing Strategies, pick up my FREE eBook; 20 Minute Guide to Investing (top right of the page). If you like what you’re reading, sign up for my RSS feed or email subscription and follow me on twitter so you get the word immediately.

What would you do in my situation? How have you handled these types of time versus money decisions in your own life?

image credit; Marzky

VIDEO SERIES; Part 2

News Flash; I’m nominated for a Plutus Award in the Best New Ebook Category for my ebook 20 Minute Guide to Personal Finance (download for free on the right)!! Please vote for me here!

Welcome to Part 2 of my video series. In Part 1, I talked about how I went from a scared girl to a confident and successful adult. The video I showcased was a first attempt project with hints for Holiday shopping. The tips work well for any season. And the article championed getting started now!

Todays video, dedicated to those just starting out, lays out money ideas for the 20-somethings and smart money reminders for the more established.

“Never spend your money before you have earned it.” Thomas Jefferson

Follow Jefferson’s advice, add in a bit of saving, and you are on the right path. Watch the video, consider the tips, pass them along to your friends, and help them become money smart!

Money doesn’t have to be complicated. Develop consistent habits, don’t spend what you don’t have, be patient, and your money will grow. And don’t forget to create additional income streams to grow your wealth.

• This is part 2 of a series showcasing my YouTube Videos. Learn personal finance and life skills from these instructional videos. Make sure to check out Part 1; Achieve Your Perfect Life With Goal Setting.

Check out these websites dedicated to those just starting out:

• The College Investor
• Financial Success for Young Adults
• Young and Thrifty
• Thousandaire

What money advice do you wish you knew when you were starting out?

News Flash; I’m nominated for a Plutus Award in the Best New Ebook Category for my ebook 20 Minute Guide to Personal Finance (download for free on the right)!! Please vote for me here!

Yesterday I had an amazing day and spent nothing!!

MY CONFESSION

I’ve played tennis forever, on a variety of courts from public to private, in metro city areas to elite private clubs. I confess, I hate the atmosphere at most of the courts; snooty, exclusive, might I even say a bit racist, classist, and sexist. (There I said it!)

Yesterday was different!

El Carino and I picked up our rackets and drove  3/4 of a mile to our neighborhood recreation center. The courts were populated with good solid players of multiethnic backgrounds. In fact, I think we may have been the only Caucasians on the court (although El Carino is usually mistaken for an Hispanic ). The other players greeted us warmly as we walked on to the one remaining open court. After hitting for about 45 minutes, 4 guys came by and were waiting for an available court. One of the players was covered in tattoos and all were from Asian, Hispanic, or other multicultural backgrounds. They waited patiently on the side of the courts.

In my experience; in the more “Caucasian” areas, the players rarely said hello, gave a smile, or welcomed you on to the court. More times than not, if you weren’t a top notch player, or dressed “appropriately” you were given a disparaging stare.

After a few minutes, the two teens on the next court asked if El Carino and I would like to play doubles, so that the 4 new guys had an open court on which to play! Of course, we said “Sure” and had an amazing amount of fun competing with these two teenage boys. It didn’t hurt that we won!

El Carino and I have never seen anything like the warmth and inclusiveness of this community recreation center. The consideration of these young boys in asking us to play in order to give the other guys a court was unprecedented in my experience. Upon leaving, the 4 guys for whom we had given up our court asked us “Who won?” After we told them we did, they joked and said that it was clearly due to my playing!!!

John Kenneth Galbraith’s Take on Gross National Product

“The Gross National product does not measure the quality of life. But it tells us about the trend of the production of goods and services. We should use it for what it tells us so long as we know what it doesn’t tell us,” Almost Everyone’s Guide to Economics by Galbraith and Salinger.

Although the worth and importance of an economy is measured by its growth in the GNP, the measure of the wealth of a society goes far beyond that of the GNP. Furthermore, the GNP is a poor measure of a society’s productivity.

What the GNP does not measure?
• Unpaid work of household CEO’s
• Quality of life items such as the arts and park
• Good public transportation
• Intangible, immeasurable quality of life

A great and growing GNP does not ensure a sanguine society. Many attributes of a successful society go way beyond this economic calculation. Galbraith, one of the greatest economists of the last century champions the idea that a society’s importance is more than the dollars and cents of its GNP.

The Takeaway; Wealth in Life is More than Money

If you play tennis at a country club, it is assumed that you are wealthier than if you play at a community recreation center. This may or may not be so. Do those at the country club have higher net worth and life satisfaction than those players at the local park, or do they have more debt, overhead, and flashy toys? The answers are not always clear cut.

My best day was spent playing tennis at the recreation center with El Carino and some teenagers from the neighborhood. The cost was free. And the richness of the experience was certainly not included in the Gross National Product. Galbraith and I believe there is more to successful societies than that which can be measured by economic metrics.

ACTION STEP:

Get a notebook and label it: “(your name) Personal Finance” and keep it by the computer. Use it to record all of your personal finance goals, thoughts, activities, and plans.

Take an inventory and decide what things and activities provide you with the most life satisfaction. Make time in your schedule for them. You may be surprised to find that many of the things that offer true wealth are free.

For a quick overview of Investing Strategies, pick up my FREE eBook; 20 Minute Guide to Investing (top right of the page). If you like what you’re reading, sign up for my RSS feed or email subscription and follow me on twitter so you get the word immediately.

What makes you feel wealthy?

image credit; J.J. Henry

“The time has come to show appreciation for your favorite personal finance bloggers, products and services. From September 1 through September 21, personal finance bloggers may vote for their favorites among all the categories while the general public, including blog readers and fans, are welcome to vote for the blogs that inspire. The Plutus Awards are configured like this to bring attention to the products and services that meet expert approval as well as to the blogs that provide the best experiences for their readers, fans, and colleagues.” by Flexo of Consumerism Commentary

The Backstory

Early on, I saw the beautiful trophy on Len Penzo’s blog and was intrigued. Clearly he deserved this awesome Plutus Award, as a hilarious, informative, and talented personal finance blogger. I also appreciated his willingness to help me out when I first started blogging. In my heart of hearts, I hoped some day I would be publicly recognized for my blogging and writing efforts.

What started as a means to impart my years of investing and personal finance education and experience to the masses, has turned into so much more. Along the way, I found I loved writing about my passion; money and finance. I sincerely enjoyed introducing money concepts and my take on saving and investing to others. What surprised me the most about this endeavor was the international relationships I’ve developed with readers and fellow bloggers.

This post would be incomplete without  a shout out to Sam of Financial Samurai for creating the awesome Yakezie personal finance and lifestyle blogging network. The network members have been tremendous champions of my site.

I wrote the ebook, 20 Minute Guide to Investing, to use my MBA, portfolio management experience, and many years investing to demonstrate how simple investing can be. Further, I elected to offer the book for free as a gesture to introduce the scary topic of investing to my readers.

I never expected the book to be nominated for a Plutus Award!

Please download the book on the right of my site (if you haven’t already). I promise you will not be bombarded with future mail from me. If you feel it is an informative read, vote for me in the “Best New Ebook” Category at the Plutus Awards site.

Additionally, check out the other nominees, there are some wonderful personal finance resources in all of the categories.

I’d also like to invite any of you with personal finance, investing, saving, or budgeting related comments or questions to write in.

Thank you for reading Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance.

Best regards,

Barb

Please check out my guest articles at Yes I am Cheap, When is Good Negotiating Just Plain Cheap? and Yakezie,.com, Buying & Selling Real Estate Not According to Plan