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FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS & GET WEALTHY

EXCITING NEWS: I was selected to deliver a national training in San Francisco this November entitled: Personal Finance Solutions for Busy Mental Health Professionals. This 3 hour workshop includes material from my upcoming INVESTING ebook. Stay tuned to get first crack at the NEW EBOOK. And it’s FREE to my readers.

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.” Abraham Lincoln

Many researchers have stated that taking control of ones’ own life, maintaining a positive attitude, and being resilient in the face of setbacks are the keys to success. Who can argue with the long lasting contributions of Abraham Lincoln?

MAIN TOPIC: Do you have these qualities of the RICH?

When El Carino (my hubby) approached me with enthusiasm over a Money Magazine article, I KNEW IT HAD TO BE FABULOUS.  Thus I rushed to read, Do You Have What It Takes To Be Wealthy?  from the September issue of Money. The article lists the qualities of the RICH and supports them with research.

Sound too good to be true? Just gain these qualities and you are on your way to the bank! Hold on, not so fast. No offense to El Carino, it is way too simplistic. Tell me what you think!

Wealthy Americans possess these attributes (according to Money Magazine):

Optimism: But not an over the top, Pollyanna attitude.

Loaded parents: Wealthiest 20% of families have a 55% chance of staying in that bracket.

Healthy: Chronic health problems are associated with financial problems.

Intelligent: But not too much-don’t need to be MENSA smart! The top 2% of the population (IQ>130) have a tough time keeping their cash!

Educated:

College degree-gain $450K in lifetime wealth

Graduate degree-gain $570,00K in lifetime wealth

Thin, tall, & attractive: Earn more (2 out of 3 isn’t too bad) 🙂

Only children earn the most: Ostensibly because they receive more parental attention

Married one time & stay married:

93% wealthier than unmarried

Divorce reduces wealth by 77%

Married-no kids: Wealthiest, next those with one offspring

Personality traits:

Persistence-the best

Materialistic-the worst

Niceness-not much

Exercise & no smoking: Not a huge surprise here

Men earn more than women: Traditional men (with stay at home wives) earn the most

Entrepreneurs are the wealthiest

Frugal lifestyle: Correlates with wealth (Go personal finance bloggers!)

PRACTICAL APPLICATION; Take this Article with a Grain of Salt

Many of the wealthy traits reflect qualities totally out of your control; wealthy parents, birth order, intelligence, appearance, height, and gender. This is not helpful! If you can’t control these qualities, then what difference do they make? Furthermore, there was minimal data to indicate the actual percent that these qualities contribute to wealth. For example, if 10% of the wealthy are married with no kids, who cares. Plus, some might argue that kids (not teenagers) add to one’s overall wealth!

Isn’t it common sense that persistence is an attribute of the rich? No smoking and exercising indicate discipline, another obvious success trait! If you don’t know men earn more than women and have more financial success then you must be living in a cave. If you are relatively intelligent, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that you will probably be richer than someone less brainy.

The more I write this post, the more frustrated I am with the Money article. This article definitely goes in the “tell me something I don’t already know” category!

My unscientific OPINION: Control what you can in life and forget about the rest. Set the goals that are important to you. If you desire wealth, make a plan, break it down into manageable steps, persist in spite of obstacles, and be patient. Focus on the PROCESS, the outcome will follow. Although Money is one of my long term favorite magazines, skip this article.

What do you think? Am I just being cranky or does Do You Have What It Takes To Be Wealthy?  adds very little to the pool of knowledge related to wealth?

WHAT DO YOU THINK IT TAKES TO BE WEALTHY?

ACTION STEP:

Set some personal success goals. Make them specific and quantifiable. For example, present 2 new ideas to the boss every other week, commit to saving 15% of your income, brain storm ways to earn extra cash.

Follow this action step and take control of your future, don’t leave it to your birth order!

Read these articles by my personal finance colleagues with more ideas for getting wealthy; there’s something for everyone!

  • Mike at Oblivious Investor writes about one of the greatest investors of all time, Benjamin Graham on Asset Allocation
  • Neal at Wealth Pilgrim tells how to Make Money During Retirement
  • Matt at Dividend Monk tells you 8 Reasons to go with Dividends

BarbaraFriedbergPersonalFinance around the web this week:

  • Monevator and Oblivious Investor selected The Magic of Compounding for their link round ups this week
  • The guest post from BFS, No Debt if I was a Doctor was featured on her site, Budgeting in the Fun Stuff  and at KNS Financial

image credit: Anadelmann

 

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