Wealth Building; What Not to Do
With the 4th of July upon us, I was going to write another “cheap activities to celebrate the 4th” article. But do we really need another picnics, walks around the lake, or pot luck articles? Of course the same could be said for the current brouhaha about celebrated New England Patriot, Aaron Hernandez and billionaire cooking empire builder, Paula Deen’s falls from grace. Do we really need more discussion of the stupidity of public personalities?
Yes, we need to shout out the importance of keeping what you have and not losing your wealth because of stupid behaviors.
It’s important to learn about getting rich and how to build wealth. But the flip side of that coin is keeping the wealth you have.
If you’ve been sleeping under a rock, I’ll encapsulate the current stupidity of Paula Deen and unlawfulness of Aaron Hernandez. Deen used the” n word” and has been dropped from TV shows, cook book publishing deals, and licence and marketing arrangements slamming her billion dollar empire to the ground. How stupid can she be? Come on, if you are racist, keep it to yourself! And in this day in age when Caucasians are quickly becoming a minority, wake up and enjoy the beautiful diversity in this country.
As anyone with a brain realizes, everyone has something to contribute regardless of race.
Aaron Hernandez allegedly killed Odin Lloyd. If you have a multi-million dollar football contract, don’t flush the money down the toilet and your life into a cell by murdering someone.
Wealth Building Lessons from Stupid Public Personalities
It’s not easy to make money. Deen had to work decades to build her brand and business empire. You don’t become a professional football player by sitting on your ass, it takes years and years of grueling practice, hard work, and dedication. Those two have access to wealth that most of us will never see, and they are throwing it away with their own hubris. And those two are not the only ones, the news is littered with rich and accomplished folks who break the law due to their own greed clamoring for more. Heck, my distant relations include a few failed business owners and and bankruptcies caused by terrible business decisions and lack of tenacity.
Building wealth takes persistence and discipline. Losing it takes stupidity and poor decision making. Here is what to do to keep the money that you earn, save, and invest:
1. Be conservative with the majority of your wealth and protect it from excessive risk. Make sure to include Government I bonds in your portfolio along with a large cash cushion for emergencies. When speculating, do so with money you can afford to lose.
2. Think before you act or speak. So many folks jumped on the Facebook IPO because they used Facebook. How stupid is that? Understand that IPO’s are speculative. Let a new company build up several years of positive earnings and an actionable growth strategy. Most IPO’s decline from their opening price.
3. When you hit the financial skids, and everyone has a financial misstep once in awhile, contain it. Keep the loss as small as possible and don’t make the same mistake again. Back in our 30’s, El Carino and I moved from expensive Southern California to affordably priced Indiana. So enamored with what our real estate dollars would buy in Indiana, we bought a large brand new home (without a basement-a big negative in Indiana). The job in Indiana didn’t work out and we moved within two years taking a loss on our home.
We learned from that mistake and never repeated it! We bought a very affordable home the next move, stayed in it for nine years, and made a nice profit when we sold.
4. Get rid of your racist attitudes and beliefs, you are missing out on way too much of life. Open yourself up to others, regardless of race and you’ll find a richer life. You may encounter money making opportunities you would otherwise have missed. Collaborate with those who have something to contribute, not those just like you!
5. Spend time planning. Figure out what you want, how you will get it. Set your goals, follow up, and keep going when the inevitable road block hits. Correct small mistakes before they devastate your future.
Let the stupidity of others motivate you to be smart with your money and your life!
What stupid financial mistakes have you made? How did you recover?
image credit; google images_media bistro (Deen)_CNN (Hernandez)
