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Million Man is about transforming yourself from a minion into a master. What is a minion? A minion is a follower, a slave, a yes-man, a lackey, a parasite. He has no backbone – he is controlled by others. He is a passive victim – life happens to him, he does not make life happen. A master is someone who is in control – he makes shit happen. He takes charge and takes responsibility for his successes, and his failures. He gets things done! In the world of money, high-value men transform their relationship with money - instead of being a slave to it and working for it, he makes money work for him. He does this by becoming a master saver and a master investor. The formula for financial freedom and mastery is simple: Earn – Spend = Invest You want to earn more than you spend, and invest the surplus so that money works for you. The more you invest, the less you have to work. There are two ways to make this surplus grow – increase your earnings or decrease your spending. In this blog, we will look at 40 ways to become a champion saver and decrease your spending. 1) The 50/25/25 Goal You want to spend 50% of your income on necessities. Necessities include the following: shelter, food, and toiletries (this includes pet needs), utilities (this includes water, lights, internet, etc.), transport expenses, debt payments, insurance, and medical needs. The remaining fifty percent is then divided evenly between non-essential expenses (such as entertainment) and savings. If you can save more and spend less on non-essentials, you will be able to invest more. Regardless of how you mix up the weighting of the fifty percent, you must not save less than 25 percent. 2) You Got to Keep it Separated You need to set up a separate bank account for your savings. You do not what to mix your daily transactional accounts with your savings account – you will not have clarity on how much you are savings and you will be tempted into spending your savings! 3) Build an Emergency Fund Set aside six months’ worth of living expenses in case of emergencies. This will help you to absorb financial shocks such as losing your job, or having to fix the heating in your house, without having to go into debt. 4) Track Your Spending On a day-by-day basis, you want to know how your spending is evolving. Divide your spending into the following categories: rent, groceries, media (telephone, data, wifi, streaming subscriptions, etc), transport, entertainment, insurance, utilities (lights, water, rates, property taxes), etc. 5) Avoid Bad Debt Not all debt is bad. What determines whether a debt is good or bad is how the proceeds of the debt are used. If you buy a Louis Vuitton bag and a trip to the Bahamas on your credit card, and then pay the minimum balance at the end of the month, that is bad debt. If you borrow money to invest, that is good debt. 6) Set Achievable Goals Big long-term goals are good, but they needed to be broken down into small short-term actions. If you want to be a millionaire in 20 years, but you have no savings and you spend more than you earn, your first goal would be to balance your budget: income = spending. The second is to earn more than you spend and use the surplus to pay down your debt. Once you have paid down your debt, you need to maintain the monthly surplus and start to invest that surplus in the stock market. 7) Use the Cooling Off Rule Before making a large purchase, think it through. I suggest a period of a couple of days to a week. Ask yourself if you need it. Is it a necessity (like a new washing machine) or a luxury (like another leather jacket)? 8) Think Twice About Taking Out a Mortgage Mortgages are the single biggest obstacle to financial freedom. To make matters worse, most people believe their home is an asset. Robert Kiyosaki, in his book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", says the asset/liability test is simple. Assets put money in your pocket. Liabilities take money out of your pocket. If you are living in a house, and it is mortgaged, you are paying rates, taxes, and interest on the loan. It is a liability. But property prices always go up. That is a fallacy. Real estate is like any asset – its price can rise or fall. If you are banking on your house price appreciating, then welcome to the world of speculation. 9) Rethink Retirement Savings The most common retirement vehicle is the retirement annuity – the worst investment known to man. Retirement annuity salesmen list five benefits of a retirement annuity. Firstly, the tax benefits. They will tell you that you deduct the contributions, but they will fail to tell you that when you retire and start to receive the benefits of the annuity, that flow of income is fully taxable. Secondly, they will tell you about the power of compound growth – returns on returns. What they fail to tell you is that ALL investments offer compound growth. Thirdly, they will talk about disciplined savings. All investments are discipline savings! Fourthly, they will talk about supporting your dependents. Once again, the reason why you invest is to look after you and your dependents. Finally, they talk about long-term stability. The stock market offers long-term stability but with far better returns. 10) Do Not Buy a Car For most people, their two biggest monthly expenses are their mortgage and car payments. I am not a fan of homeownership and I am even less of a fan of car ownership. In a world where there is a plethora of renting and sharing options, and public transport who in their right mind would you want to buy? 11) Is University Compulsory? Kids today are graduating from university, saddled with debt and without the skills to meet the challenges of the modern workforce. Modern corporations have started to understand the limitations of formal education. In 2018, job-search site Glassdoor compiled a list of top employers who no longer require applicants to have a college degree. Companies like Google, Apple, and IBM are all in this group. The market value of a university degree has declined while the cost of that education has increased. In the 1980s, a college degree almost guaranteed a job in a specific field of study. This is no longer the case given the higher number of degrees and the shrinking number of jobs on account of technology and automation. Maybe we need to rethink the paradigm that a university degree is compulsory and embrace the concept of continuous learning through alternative channels. Learning should become a way of life and not be limited to a location. Gone are the days when you study a profession for life. The job market is in flux and workers will need to reinvent themselves multiple times. 12) Fully Utilize Your Employer’s Retirement Match If your employer matches your contributions to your retirement savings, you should consider contributing enough to max out your employer’s matching benefit. Otherwise, you’re just turning down free money. This is not a retirement annuity – this is a retirement fund. 13) Embrace the Stock Market The stock market is one of the greatest generators of wealth. An exchange-traded fund is a fund of shares that trade on the stock market like a single share. So instead of buying a share in Amazon, you can buy a share in an ETF that invests in technology companies. In this way, you will be investing in Amazon, but also in companies like Microsoft, Apple, Tesla, Google, Facebook, Tesla, and Nvidia. I am talking about the Invesco QQQ ETF. In this way, you can participate in the fortunes of a large number of public companies and avoid the slow death of having your money in a savings account. Also, you do not have a specific risk of investing in one specific stock. Over the long term, the stock market delivers solid predictable returns that are far superior to a traditional savings account. 14) Switch to a Cheaper Cell-Phone Plan With the prevalence of WIFI hotspots, most people on average use 1.6 gigabytes of data per month. Interestingly, most service providers’ cheapest data plan provides more than that. Track how much data you’re using and stop paying for more than you need. 15) Lower Your Utility Bills Consider turning off the boiler that heats up your water. Cold showers boost your immune system, increase circulation, reduce muscle soreness post-workout, and boost weight loss. Watch how your utility bills start to decline. This is good for your health and your bank balance. 16) Time Major Purchases Around Sale Periods Because demand fluctuates by the season for certain items, you can time your big buys to rake in the savings. Black Monday, post-Christmas sales, and general clearance sales. Retail is for suckers! 17) Cancel Your Gym Membership Most people with gym memberships only use the gym a couple of times a month. Many of the exercises you do at the gym can be done at home with a bit of creativity. You can watch YouTube tutorials for ideas about home workouts, go for a run in your neighborhood, or swim laps at your community pool. If the great lockdown of 2020 taught us one thing, it is that you do not need a gym to exercise. 18) Use Coupons Coupons are available on company websites, apps, and online. Before you go out shopping, check your phone or computer and increase your savings. 19) Share Entertainment Share the payments for a joint streaming account. Netflix is not exactly expensive, although you may also have Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO. If you can share these costs with your friends, over time you could be setting yourself up for some decent savings. 20) Plan Your Groceries Make a list of what food you’ll need for the week, keeping in mind what meals can be made from the ingredients, and don’t buy anything that isn’t on your list. It helps not to go to the grocery store hungry. Meal planning is another great option that can help you save time and money while making it easier for you to eat healthily. You need to only buy what you need and plan ahead to minimize waste and unnecessary expenses. 21) Understand Food Spoilage Do not be fooled by the expiration date on food items. While it may not be a wise idea to drink from the carton of milk that has been in your fridge since the Nixon impeachment, that bag of lettuce that expired 2 days ago may very well still be good for consumption. Inspect the food to make sure that it has not grown a beard or given birth to offspring. 22) Carpool to Work or School Ask around or organize a carpool spreadsheet at work to see if anyone lives near you with who you can swap rides with. For your kids, enlist nearby parents or friends' parents to help lighten the burden of the school drop-off lines. 23) Replace Your Incandescent Light Bulbs I did this a few years ago and I cut my utility expense by more than 80 percent. I went from hating paying my utility bill to extract a small amount of satisfaction from paying it – comforted also forextracting the fact that I was helping repair the planet. 24) Buck the Trend – Move to Cash Studies have shown that one of the problems with credit cards is that they reduce the pain of purchases. Whipping out a credit card for a pair of Gucci loafers is relatively painless. Although carrying cash has its risks, the envelope approach can be quite effective. At the beginning of each month, get a bunch of envelopes and mark them with your major spending categories that can be paid in cash. Place cash bills in the corresponding envelopes for the month and only spend that cash on those categories. 25) Calculate by Hours When trying to decide if something is worth buying, try thinking of the cost in terms of how long it takes you to make that money. This can help you get a sense of the true value of your money. For this to work, you need to calculate how much you make per hour. The formula is simple: Net monthly salary divided by (number of workdays in the month (work on 22) x hours worked per day). 26) Used is the New Black You can get slightly used high-quality items at a fraction of the cost of their newer counterparts. Not only is buying used good for your finances, but it is also good for the planet. Clothes companies are massive polluters and any activity on your part to reduce demand for their polluting products is one step towards healing the planet. 27) “We will be in the library” Some people don’t realize that their local library is a great resource for free entertainment, especially for kids. Many offer movies and games in addition to books, as well as free events and readings for kids every week. So fire up the SUV, pack it full of kids, and hit the library. 28) Buy Generic This is a bit of a nono-brainerexpenseo buy generic drugs – although many people believe they are inferior and will not do the job. Generic drugs are not cheaper because they are of inferior quality. They are only cheaper because the manufacturers have not had the expenses of developing and marketing a new drug. 29) Eat In Eating at home is cheaper than eating out. Celebrity chefs like Jaime Oliver have over 5 million subscribers on YouTube which means you can find plenty of great video recipes if your kitchen repertoire is limited to scrambled eggs. 30) Use the 24-Hour Rule We spoke about the cooling-off period on major purchases. It is also a good idea to apply this to minor purchases. Put yourself in the spending cooler and sleep on it. If you wake up and the desire for those pants has not peteredpeered out, go for it. If not, get back to the task of cutting coupons out of the newspaper! 31) Designate No-Spend on Non-Essentials Days We tend to overspend over the weekend. To ease the guilt, call for a moratorium on non-essential spending on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday? If this is a little extreme, cut it down to only Monday and Tuesday, or only Monday. 32) Go Outside I live in one of the most spectacular cities in the world – Cape Town. When you arrive here, you want to spend all your time outside – driving along its impressive coastline, exploring the vineyards, hiking up Table Mountain, surfing, biking, and penguin watching. Most of these activities are free – they require no entrance fee. I know that not everyone is fortunate enough to live in a natural paradise, but many modern cities are promoting outdoor activities. 33) Take Public Transportation In December 2019, I conducted a mobility experiment. In the interest of highlighting the plight of that delicious holiday fowl, I went cold turkey. I parked my car in the garage and committed to using use public transportation. These were the rules of the experiment – Monday to Friday in the commute to and from work, in addition to any businesorof social meetings from 6 am to 8 pm, I was only allowed to use publically available transport. For Mexico City, that includes the following: metro, buses, bike shares, electric scooters, and public rideshares like Uber/Didi/Cabify. I was unable to mooch off friends or colleagues. I felt free and unfettered. There was no need to worry about psychotic drivers cutting into my lane, no need to stress about parking. 34) Drink Less Bottled Water If you live in a city with great tap water (like Cape Town)e buying bottled water is a heinous crime against humanity. Even if you do not have great tap water, buy a filter. Not only will the filter soon pay for itself in nobyspending on bottled water, but you will do your part in not allowing the plastic islands in the middle of the ocean from increasing in size. 35) Sell Your Extra Stuff You use 20 percent of your stuff 80 percent of the time. Sell (or even better, give away) the stuff you do not use often. 36) Rent Instead of Buy If you need to do a big one-off DIY job, consider renting rather than buying the tools. On the other hand, if you have a large tool collection, think about renting them out online to generate some additional cash flow. 37) Rent Out an Extra Room One way to make your home more of an asset is to rent out a room on Airbnb and start getting some money into your pocket. 38) Rent Your Parking Spot If you live in a large congested city where there is high demand for parking, and you have a safe space, rent it out. In this way, you are converting idle assets into cash generators. 39) Consider Becoming a Minimalist Minimalism is a movement that focuses on reducing the clutter in your life both in physical objects and or distractions. People who embrace it find ways to eliminate the distractions from their lives and it opens up more opportunities for them in other ways and areas. 40) Pet-Sit With 44 percent of Millennials remaining unsure if they want to start their own family, it makes sense that their Instagram feeds may be more full of fur babies than tiny humans. Make the most of this trend by charging these people to look after their precious pets! #lifecoach #motivation #lifecoaching #coaching #love #mindset #coach #inspiration #selflove #life #success #selfcare #lifestyle #mentalhealth #mindfulness #personaldevelopment #entrepreneur #goals #happiness #meditation #loveyourself #healing #motivationalquotes #lifequotes #positivevibes #fitness #businesscoach #motivationalspeaker #business

Many people believe that financial success is reserved for an exclusive club of talented visionaries for whom the planets have aligned. The biggest obstacle to becoming rich, however, is not your lack of talent or luck. It is because you are too easily influenced by external factors. We like to think we control our destiny. The Invictus poem commonly quoted by Nelson Mandela: “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul” is not true for 99% of people. It only applies to a small minority. The majority of our decisions are based on how we have been hardwired and influenced. You need to understand these influencing factors and work against them. Here are FIVE factors that are preventing you from being financially free. Factor 1: Your Childhood The average person, by the time they reach the age of 18, has spent 25,000 hours in the company of his/her parents. Parents have left an indelible influence on your life and probably have shaped your views on money. They were either very anxious and frugal, or extravagant and reckless, or they could never make ends meet. Regardless of how they spent it, your parents most definitely never spoke about it or educated you on it. Financial issues rank high on the list of conflict areas between couples. It is unlikely that you were able to navigate childhood without a negative view of money. Solution: You need to flip this negative money association. Unfortunately, this doesn’t take days weeks, or months. It takes years because this negative belief has been tattooed onto your subconscious. You need to stop working for money and start making money work for you. You need to stop being a net spender and become a net investor. Factor 2: The Jones’s Keeping up with the Joneses is a powerful sociological force. This pressure to keep up with your friends, relatives, neighbors, and colleagues forces you into irrational money decisions. Solution: Stop being so self-conscious and concerned about what other people think. The truth is that they don’t really care about you. The Jones’s are too busy with their own internal struggles and battles to be worried about what car you drive, the watch you wear, and where you are going on vacation. Factor 3: Society Society is tyrannical and judgmental. It tells you that you are inadequate. One of the results of throwing yourself into society is that you are vulnerable. Solution: There are three ways you can react to this. Firstly, you can accept society’s judgment and live the life of a defeated victim. Secondly, you can try and dedicate your life to the pursuit of impossible excellence. Thirdly, you can convince yourself you are good enough. That third option is all you need to become financially free. Financial freedom is not achieved through being exceptional – it is through simple discipline that anyone can master – spend less than you make and invest the difference starting from the earliest age possible. Factor 4: Social Media The more time you spend on social media, the more you are being manipulated by algos that "tell" you what to buy and what to believe. Google and Facebook are not doing the manipulation – they are getting you addicted to their platforms. The manipulators are the corporations that use these platforms to sell you their stuff. This is different from traditional advertising – TV, billboards, and magazines. The algos are observing you, tracking what you do, see and watch, and then looking for ways to change your behaviour. They are pushing you to buy that new pair of shoes, to take that expensive vacation to the Maldives. Combine this blatant propaganda with Instagramers displaying how “perfect “ their lives are in these fancy shoes and exotic destinations, and you quickly believe that you “need” these things in your life. You whip out your credit card, make the purchase and then spend the next 12 months digging yourself out of debt when you should be investing and growing your wealth. Solution: The solution is simple, but hard at the same time. You need to cut back on the time you spend on social media. Factor 5: The Financial Industry The financial industry does not want you to be free. Just like the medical establishment wants to keep you ill and coming back for treatment, the financial system wants you to consume like an imbecile. Through marketing and advertising, it sells you an almost unattainable lifestyle that if you reach, you simply become another one of greed`s whore. It is never enough. Banks want to keep you ignorant and coming back to buy their products. They say they want to educate you but nothing could be further from the truth. They want to sell you their rancid products with a new shiny wrap. They want to skrew you again and again, and you get to smile while they`re doing it. Solution: You need to educate yourself financially and take control of your future. You need to learn about the stock market, and index funds, and invest directly at the lowest cost. If you invest through a financial advisor, they charge you too much and leave you taking all the risk. This is an abusive relationship. #financetips#moneytips#businesstip#investingtips#richandfamous#cryptocoin#stockstowatch#smallbusinessgrowth#moneycoach#wealthymen#moneypower#millennialmoney#moneyfreedom#rebelmoney#rebel

Financial advisors will tell you that money management is complicated and you should leave it to the professionals. What if I told you that you are better off educating yourself financially and taking control of your own money. Here are TEN reasons why. Reason 1: Finance, Money, and Investing are Simple If you want to be rich in your 40s, earn more than you spend in your 20s and start investing the surplus in the stock market. How simple is that? You only need to apply two simple rules – you need to invest EVERY month and you need to be patient. Growing wealth is like growing a tree – it takes a long time. Reason 2: Financial Advisors are Too Expensive Most advisers charge approximately 1% for their services. It does not sound much, but if your investment return is 10%, you will only get 9%. They are taking 10% of your returns. Reason 3: Financial Health is Like Physical Health If you want to get into physical shape, do you go to a doctor or do you find yourself a personal trainer? You don’t want to rely on someone else to manage your money and inject it with antiobiotics. You need a coach who will teach you to do it yourself. Reason 4: Financial Advisors Don’t Want You to be Financially Free They want to sell you investment products, and they will sell you the product that earns them the highest fee. Money coaches are not selling you products, they are coaching you to be financially free. Reason 5: Wealth is More than Money, it is Your Entire Being Financial advisors are only after your money. Money coaches see you as a complete entity. In order to generate wealth, you need to be physically and mentally tough. You need to look after your body and your brain. Money coaches understand the relationship between mind, body, and wallet. Reason 6: Investing Should be Boring Investing should be like watching paint dry – predictable and boring. Financial advisors will pitch you on an exciting investment opportunity. If you want exciting, go to Las Vegas and marry a showgirl. Reason 7: A Financial advisor will NOT show you how to Start a New Business, or get an Ideal Job Money coaches focus on three things – helping you maximise your earnings potential, how to minimize your spending, and how to invest like a master. A financial advisor wants you to give them your money so they can invest it for you. Which proposition sounds more appealing? Reason 8: A Financial Adviser will make you Sign a Bunch of Disclaimers In order to cover themselves in the event they lose your money, the advisor will make you sign disclaimers that you understood the risk of the investment. This means that you take all the risk. The advisor takes no risk but is guaranteed his commission. This is an abusive relationship. Reason 9: It is Not Difficult to Become a Financial Advisor It is not like becoming a brain surgeon. All you need to do is pass a few exams and have a bit of practical experience. The hardest part about being a financial advisor is not passing the exam, it is finding clients. Yet, most clients treat financial advisers with the same confidence as they would a brain surgeon. Reason 10: The Financial Industry is Rife with Conflicts of Interest Money corrupts and financial advisors are not immune from this. Not all advisors are the same, but it is not uncommon for financial advisers to steer their clients not to the most suitable investment product, but the one that pays them the highest commission. The best way to remove this conflict of interest is to make your own decisions. #financetips#moneytips#businesstip#investingtips#richandfamous#cryptocoin#stockstowatch#smallbusinessgrowth#moneycoach#wealthymen#moneypower#millennialmoney#moneyfreedom#rebelmoney#rebel

Money is taboo. It ranks up there with religion, politics, and sex. It is not mentioned in polite conversation. This means money – how much you make, spend and have – is shrouded in mystery. By keeping the topic of money in the dark, society has created a monster that is a source of stress, anxiety, and depression. The time has come to have an honest conversation about money. Money is powerful – more powerful than many people think. However, it is not powerful in the way that many people think. To understand the power of money, you need to know FIVE important things. 1) You will NEVER have Enough There are two different kinds of money people – those that want to have enough to survive and those that are obsessed with making it. In the first group, “enough” money is that amount that covers basic physiological needs. For the second group, money is an eternal pursuit - if you have a million, you want another million. If you have a billion, you what another billion. For the super-rich, money is a game and a measure of who is winning. The rich want to be honoured and revered. Wealth and honour have become intertwined in the modern world. This is a hollow and vain pursuit. 2) Money will not Cure your Insecurities We are all insecure about something. We question our intellect – are we smart enough to contribute to the conversation? In our relationships, we may be unwilling to trust the other person. We worry about what we look like and are self-conscious about our bodies. In our jobs, we are afraid that we don’t have the necessary skills to perform and that we will be fired. Guess what – money will not make any of these insecurities go away. Money is physical and these insecurities are emotional – they do not exist in the same realm which means that one cannot meaningfully impact the other. 3) Money and Wealth are not the Same Things Wealth is defined as an abundance of valuable possessions or money. That is the overly simplified definition. If you were stuck on a barren and deserted island with 1 billion dollars, you may be rich, but would you be wealthy? There is no food and water on this island and you will die in 3 days. What is that money worth if there is nothing you can do with it. You cannot spend it or enjoy it. The same is true if you are a billionaire plugged into a life support machine where the only thing between you and death is the flick of a switch. Wealth is more than money – it also relates to the quality of life and your mental and physical health. 4) Money can Make You Hated Society tends to venerate the rich. Lately, however, there has been an uprising in anti-capitalist sentiment. Sir Angus Deaton, the Nobel prize-winning economist said: "There is this feeling that contemporary capitalism is not working for everybody". He adds that "We've created this meritocratic aristocracy and people who didn't make it are pissed off." As economic inequality grows around the world, don’t be surprised if your financial success is met with enmity rather than veneration. 5) Money should not be your Why Henry Ford said that a business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. Pursue excellence and the money will find you. Money should not be your goal – instead, it should be the byproduct of a higher and more noble aim. #finance #money #business #investing #investment #entrepreneur #financialfreedom #success #stocks #wealth #trading #realestate #stockmarket #invest #motivation #forex #bitcoin #investor #accounting #cryptocurrency #marketing #wallstreet #startup #trader #personalfinance #entrepreneurship #credit #smallbusiness #goals

Social media has done a great job in connecting people but stands in the way of your financial freedom. The more time you spend on social media, the more you are being manipulated by algos that "tell" you what to buy and what to believe. Google and Facebook are not doing the manipulation – they are getting you addicted to their platforms. The manipulators are the influencers that use these platforms to sell their stuff. The algos are observing you, tracking what you do, seeing and watching, and then looking for ways to change your behaviour. Here are the 5 most common lies that influencers feed you and keep you financially enslaved. Lie 1: Anyone Can Make Money Trading the Stock Market All you need is a laptop, a few weeks of online training, and you too can become a professional trader. How often have you come across this promise? If you found a secret way to make quick and easy money from trading, would you tell the world? Of course not. You would hold that secret as close to your chest as possible, because the more people that know the strategy, the less profitable it is going to be. Trading is a zero-sum game – for every 1,000 that is made in the market, someone must lose 1,000. In order for the winners to win, there have to be losers that are losing. If the whole world has a "winning" strategy, it will soon become a "losing" strategy. You want to be on the lookout for scams that promise exceptional returns from trading stocks, options, forex (foreign exchange), and bitcoin. I am not talking about INVESTMENTS in these markets. Investments are long-term strategies. I am warning you about short-term trading strategies that promise quick and easy money. Lie 2: Anyone can become a Financial Guru There is no shortage of financial “gurus” on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media. Kids think they can read a couple of books, watch a couple of videos and suddenly they are qualified to offer financial advice. It is true that it is not difficult to understand the basics of finance, but financial education and proficiency is a lifelong journey. In a world that focuses on instant success and gratification, it is easy to be sucked into the belief that financial mastery is easy. On social media, semi-illiterate financial gurus and influencers are giving advice to completely illiterate disciples and this is creating a vicious downward spiral that will end in money being lost and financial dreams being shattered. Lie 3: Financial Freedom is about Flashy Cars, Large Mansions, and Sumptuous Yachts Financial freedom is not about leading an opulent life of luxury and leisure. At the core of financial freedom is the ability to flip your relationship with money – as opposed to working for money, making money work for you, and then using this freedom to pursue a meaningful life. A meaningful life is not the pursuit of pleasure. Humans are not adapted well for security and utopia. Sure, we like a degree of security because we are vulnerable, but we also want a foot in something with a degree of uncertainty and risk. A meaningful life is achieved through the pursuit of noble aims. Financial freedom means not having to worry about basic daily needs, and focusing on doing things that make a positive impact on the lives of other people. Lie 4: It is Easy to Make Money with Digital Products Start a blog, publish an e-book, create an online course, and set up a drop shipping website. These all sound like great ways to make money, and social media will make very compelling arguments in their favour. For example, all you need is a laptop and an internet connection. The cost of the product is essentially free – all you need to do is dedicate your time and creativity. Everyone is a potential client. You can make money while you sleep. There is no better source of passive income. It is easy to be sucked into the marketing rhetoric. There are three reasons why it is exceptionally difficult to make money from digital products. Firstly, what makes you think people will be interested in your content? There are no barriers to entry into the digital economy. You are competing with thousands – if not hundreds of thousands - of people that are all looking to do the same thing. It is estimated that in 2021, there are 32 million bloggers in the US alone. Secondly, what makes you think people will pay for your content? Udemy alone has 130,000 online classes as of July 2021, covering a range of diverse topics. What special skills do you bring to this platform that would justify charging for your course? Thirdly, the amount of free content on the internet is astounding. We are used to free stuff. It is inordinately difficult to monetize digital products in 2021 and the Pareto Principle applies – 20 percent of the content creators capture 80 percent of the revenue. As in life, there is no normal distribution of riches in the digital world. Lie 5: Financial Success is the Norm People present themselves on social media in such a way that you quickly start to believe the following: everyone has exciting and glamorous careers, everyone is always busy doing important stuff, and everyone is happy and fulfilled. In reality, these things are exceptions rather than the rule. Most people are struggling because life is hard and judgmental. Financial success is not the norm, and it is not easy. If it was easy, everyone would be wildly successful. The road to financial success is paved with dedication, commitment, and determination. #finance #money #business #investing #investment #entrepreneur #financialfreedom #success #stocks #wealth #trading #realestate #stockmarket #invest #motivation #forex #bitcoin #investor #accounting #cryptocurrency #marketing #wallstreet #startup #trader #personalfinance #entrepreneurship #credit #smallbusiness #goals

In 2020, one of the most tumultuous years in decades, the number of millionaires in the world grew by 6 percent to 20 million, according to a study by Capgemini. A millionaire is defined as someone with more than US$1 million in investable assets. This means that one in every 350 people in the world is a millionaire. It is easy to look at these people in awe, and think that their level of wealth is unattainable. Nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone, with average physical and mental ability, can become a millionaire. All they need to do is learn three simple millionaire skills. Skill 1: Learn How to Earn You are a money-making machine. Human beings are mobile creatures – our bodies are designed to wrestle saber-tooth tigers and our minds are hardwired to be active, solving problems and finding solutions. Our bodies were not designed to be sat in front of television screens binge-watching Netflix. It was designed to be out in the world, hunting, and gathering. Our minds cannot handle long lapses of idleness – it needs goals, challenges, and responsibilities. We need to first find our mission in life and secondly learn how to monetize it/get paid for doing it. We are not born with passion. Elon Musk was not born with passion. He acquired an interest in renewable energy and electric vehicles and then converted that little flame into a raging inferno. If you already have burning passions, that is great. If not, make a list of a few interests and then rank them from the highest to the lowest level of interest. You know if something is of interest to you by filling out this sentence: I lose track of time when I………Then find ways to monetize these interests. Our interests need to solve a need. The bigger the need it solves, the more profitable the monetization. Electric vehicles save the planet by polluting less. Tesla found a solution to harness the power of the sun to electrify houses and vehicles, and this has made Elon Musk very rich. Monetization is finding a way to make money from solving a need. How do you find the need? What better place to start than the person you have known your entire life – YOURSELF. You need to dig deep and be honest about what pisses you off, what frustrates you, and what causes anxiety. You only need to look at great businesses to understand the needs they were solving. Facebook solves the need for companionship and social connection. Uber, Lyft, Didi, and Bolt solve the challenge of finding a safe, clean, and reliable taxi on your telephone. Tinder plays on our fear of loneliness and the difficulty of meeting single people in coffee shops. Airbnb taps into the need for new and unique travel experiences. Many great businesses were set up to address basic human needs. Everyone is neurotic. We all experience anxiety, worry, fear, anger, frustration, envy, jealousy, guilt, depression, and loneliness. You want to monetize solutions to these modern maladies. The bigger and more original the problem you are trying to fix, the more successful you are going to be. Skill 2: Learn How to Save Before learning how to save, you need to learn how you spend. Your spending patterns are formed by numerous factors: the influence of your parents (children of baby boomers are spenders, children of generation X are savers), society and culture (Americans are spenders, the Chinese are savers), religion and spiritual beliefs (tithing, giving alms, donating to charity), and social media (equating happiness with physical possessions and lavish experiences). To understand how you spend, you need to track your spending, and know how much you spend in the following categories: 1) COMMUNICATION – cellphone, internet, fixed-line telephone 2) EDUCATION 3) ENTERTAINMENT – alcohol, digital subscriptions, going out, and movies 4) FEES 5) FOOD – groceries, takeaways 6) HOUSEHOLD – electricity, furniture & appliances, garden, gas, home improvements, housekeeping, levies & taxes, municipal bill, other household, rent, security, water 7) INSURANCE – funeral cover, home insurance, life insurance, other insurance, vehicle insurance 8) LOANS & ACCOUNTS – credit card payments, home loan payments, loan payments, car payments 9) MEDICAL – doctors & therapists, medical aid, pharmacy, other medical 10) PERSONAL & FAMILY – activities, children & dependents, clothing & shoes, donations, gadgets, gifts, holidays, personal care, pets, sports, hobbies, tax 11) SAVINGS & INVESTMENTS 12) TRANSPORT – fuel, license, parking, public transport, tolls, vehicle maintenance, vehicle tracking Now we can start saving. Saving is hard, but remember that money saved is money earned. By saving, you are investing in your future self. When you decide not to buy that pair of Italian leather boots and invest that money, that small sacrifice will compound into riches over the years and will make you rich. Here are a few tips. Tip 1: Budget for Savings Once you have an idea of what you spend in a month, you can begin to organize your expenses into a workable budget. Your budget should outline how your expenses measure up to your income—so you can plan your spending and limit overspending. Be sure to factor in expenses that occur regularly but not every month, such as car maintenance. Here you need to calculate what you spend in a year and then divide that by 12. Be on the lookout for other expenses that you pay quarterly, semi-annually, or annually – like school tuition and insurance. If the expense is paid quarterly, divide by 3, divide by 6 if semi-annually and 12 if annually. Tip 2: Include a Savings Category in Your Budget If we held the Olympic Games for the world's greatest savers, Singapore takes gold, Suriname (the smallest country in South America) silver, and China the bronze. I would suggest you aim to save between 15 and 30 percent of your income. Tip 3: Find Ways to Cut your Spending Learn to say NO to your friends who want to go out partying every night. Identify non-essentials that you can spend less on, such as entertainment and dining out. Look for ways to save on your fixed monthly expenses like television and your cell phone. You can also downgrade on the brands that you consume – instead of Johnnie Walker Black, buy Red. You may also want to grow your hair and beard – imagine the savings in razor blades, shaving cream, and barbershop visits! Talking about barbers, here are some ideas for trimming everyday expenses: 1) Use resources such as community event listings to find free or low-cost events to reduce entertainment spending. 2) Cancel subscriptions and memberships you don’t use—especially if they renew automatically. 3) Commit to eating out only once a month and trying places that fall into the “cheap eats” category. 4) Give yourself a “cooling off period”: When tempted by a nonessential purchase, wait a few days to see if the urge passes. Tip 4: Do it for the Planet Many of the products we buy are exceptionally damaging to the planet. Consider how many liters of water are required to produce 1kg of the following foods: Chocolate: 17,196 Beef: 15,415 Sheep meat: 10,412 Pork: 5,988 Butter: 5,553 Chicken meat: 4,325 Cheese: 3,178 Olives: 3,025 Rice: 2,497 Pasta: 1,849 Pizza: 1,239 Apple: 822 Banana: 790 Potatoes: 287 Tomato: 214 Egg: 196 Lesson 1: cut out red meat and each chicken – not only is red meat twice the price, but it uses substantially more water (a scarce and precious resource). Lesson 2: reduce your chocolate intake – it is expensive, makes you fat, and at the same time skrews up the planet. Lesson 3: consider adopting a vegetarian diet half the week – again veggies and pasta are cheaper than meat and pollute less. Tip 5: Consider becoming a Minimalist Have you ever noticed how you use the same shirts, pants, and shoes all the time? Get rid of (sell or donate) that stuff you have not used in the past 6 months and do not plan on using in the next six months. This exercise is liberating and potentially profitable, Skill 3: Learn to Invest Many learn the first two skills but fall short on the third. You want to invest your hard-earned/saved money into high-quality and quality assets that provide reliable cash flows. There are many places to invest: in your own business, in real estate and in cryptocurrencies. In this section, however, I want to focus on the stock market for two reasons. Firstly, it is very accessible, and secondly, it is one of the greatest generators of wealth on the planet, yet only a small percentage of people exploit it. Let me share with you a simple investment strategy you can implement TODAY. Step 1: Relax We are terrified of the stock market because of its wild and volatile swings. In the short term (days and weeks), the market can be crazy. Over the long term (months and years), it is more predictable and benign. Your first step is to relax, be patient and take a long-term view of the stock market. Step 2: Monthly Contributions – Annual Consultations Every month, you need to commit to investing a minimum amount of cash into the stock market and you are only allowed to check your account statement once per year. Step 3: Choose a Low-Cost ETF An ETF is a powerful financial tool. It is a share that owns many shares. One of the world's most popular ETFs is the Invesco QQQ. If you buy one share in the QQQ, you become the owner of 100 of the world's biggest technology companies - including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, Facebook, Google, etc, Step 4: At Least $100 a Month All you need to do is invest $100 per month. To understand how extremely attainable $100 per month is. I did a quick Google search on what $100 can buy you these days: Eight or ten movie tickets, 10 months of Netflix, four or five new movies on DVD, fifteen used DVDs at a yard sale, lunch for four at a fairly nice restaurant, 40 cheap burgers or 90 candy bars. Over the past 30 years, the Standard and Poor's 500 Index has delivered compounded returns of approximately 10 percent. So how much would your 30-year religious investment in this broad-based US stock index yield? The answer is $226,048. That is a lot better than investing in a savings account or Treasury bonds. How much would you need to invest every month to be a millionaire in 30 years, 20 years, 10 years, and 5 years? Assuming the same total returns as the Standard and Poors 500 index, here are the monthly investments that will yield $1 million after the stipulated period 30 years: $442 20 years: $1,316 10 years: $4,881 5 years: $12,913 #finance #money #business #investing #investment #entrepreneur #financialfreedom #success #stocks #wealth #trading #realestate #stockmarket #invest #motivation #forex #bitcoin #investor #accounting #cryptocurrency #marketing #wallstreet #startup #trader #personalfinance #entrepreneurship #credit #smallbusiness #goals

Your 20s are an important part of your life. The knowledge and experience you gain, the habits you develop, and the people you connect with will shape your future. In this blog, we will look at 20 things you should NOT DO in your twenties. 1) You Should Not Avoid Risk There is a big difference between not avoiding risk and being careless. There is good risk and there is bad risk. Good risk makes you stronger, bad risk makes you weaker. Hanging out with drug dealers is bad risk – it may make you richer in the short term, but in the long term it could destroy you. Starting your own business, investing in the stock market, and investing in cryptocurrencies are good risks because you are putting yourself in a position to build your wealth and become financially independent. In the world of investing, if you do not take risk, you will not earn a return. If you hide your money under your mattress or leave it in your bank, you will lose money because it will be eaten up by inflation. If you invest wisely, your returns will compound over time and you will get rich. 2) You Should Not Buy a Car There is no love in owning a car – there is love in driving a car. Car ownership opens your life to a world of complications – pushy car salespeople, rapid devaluation, hidden fees, and costs, insurance, taxes, gasoline, maintenance, repairs, fines, and parking. In a world where there is a plethora of renting and sharing options, and public transport, who in their right mind would you want to buy? A car is not an asset – it is a liability that drags you down and holds you back in your journey to financial freedom. 3) You Should Not Buy a House Homeownership enslaves people financially. Unless you have millions of bucks in your bank account, you will need to borrow money to buy a house - a mortgage bond. Mortgages are the single biggest obstacle to financial freedom. To make matters worse, most people believe their home is an asset. Robert Kiyosaki, in his book Rich Dad Poor Dad, says the asset/liability test is simple. Assets put money in your pocket. Liabilities take money out of your pocket. If you living in a house, and it is mortgaged, you are paying rates, taxes, and interest on the loan. It is a liability. But property prices always go up. That is a fallacy. Real estate is like any asset – its price can rise or fall and if you are banking on your house price appreciating in value, welcome to the world of speculation. Real estate is a very powerful income-generating asset, but it is only an asset when it generates income and puts money in your pocket. 4) You Should Not Get Caught in Get-Rich-Quick Scams There is no quick and easy money. Winning the lottery is quick, but not easy. Do not be fooled into believing you can become a millionaire overnight. Getting rich takes time and discipline. Two common get-rich-quick financial scams are forex and stock trading. You may get lucky and win on some of your initial trades. This will get you hooked and the path thereafter is predictable. Nine times out of ten, you get carried out and lose large chunks of money. Trading is not going to make you rich and financially free – investing is going to. 5) You Should Not Get into Bad Debt There is good debt and bad debt, and the quicker you learn the difference, the better. Bad debt is expensive and is not used to invest. If you use your credit card, which charges an interest rate of 32%, to buy a pair of Gucci loafers, that is bad debt. If you borrow at a 10 percent interest rate and invest in an asset that pays a yield of 15 percent, that is good debt. 6) You Should Not Mess up Your Credit Score You have heard the saying: it takes 20 years to build a good reputation, and only 5 minutes to ruin it. The same is true about your credit score. Financial advisers tell you debt is bad and credit cards are evil. Credit, however, makes the world go round. Your access to credit is an important part of financial freedom. If you need to expand or scale your business, debt can help you do it. The best way to build your credit score is through the smart use of credit cards. There are two ways to increase your credit score with credit cards. Firstly, don’t use more than 50 percent of the limit. If the card limit is 10,000, only use up to 5,000. Secondly, pay off the full balance of the card every month. All this good work on building your score can be destroyed if you start missing credit card payments. 7) You Should Not Ignore Insurance When you are in your 20s, you feel bulletproof but you need to be prudent. No one likes to buy insurance. We don't want insurance but we know that we need it. It is prudent to transfer specific risks to a third party. You take enough risk in life – it is not prudent to expose yourself to additional risks that can easily be covered. If you do not insure the risks over which you have no control, you are placing yourself at unnecessary risk. 8) You Should Not Sign Personal Guarantees The moment you sign personal guarantees for your business or a third party is the moment you place your personal assets in danger. However, avoiding personal guarantees is easier said than done. If you are starting a business, your business has no credit track record. For the banks, you are a rookie at business although you may have a strong personal credit record. Bankers, therefore, require that you pledge your personal assets to guarantee your business credit. The strategy you need to pursue is the following. You need to build a solid credit record of accomplishment in your company. You then need to start fighting with the banks to release those personal guarantees. I know businesspersons who have signed personal guarantees when they start their businesses and then forget about them. Do not forget about them – this is not like your wedding anniversary. You need to fight with the banks to release them as soon as the company's credit can stand on its own two feet. 9) You Should Not Invest in What You Don’t Understand There is no shortage of fancy investment vehicles out there. There is a simple rule that can be applied – if you cannot explain the investment of a five-year-old in one sentence, it is probably too complex. Another rule that can be applied is counting the number of “ifs” in the product description. For example, if x happens, you will receive y. However, if z happens, then you lose w. Binary options are becoming popular – these are complex derivatives that should only be traded by professionals. 10) You Should Not Buy Products on Installments “Buy this big screen TV on 36 easy monthly installments”. It is very tempting to fall into these marketing scams. The problem is that these in-store deals are normally financed at extremely high-interest rates. The TV may cost 5,000 outright, or 36 monthly payments of 300. On the surface, this looks like a great deal, but if you do the simple maths, you will see that it is a rip-off. You will end up paying more than double the price of the TV in 3 years. 11) You Should Not Make Money Your Why If money is your why, it will become an endless source of anxiety. The thirst for money is insatiable. If money is your why, you will never be satisfied. Money becomes your master. It rules your mind, your actions, and your desires. You need to flip this relationship. You must become the master of your money and it must work for you. You are in control. Money works for you and you in turn work for a higher purpose. You need to find that higher purpose. It could be to provide for your family or give back to your community. 12) You Should Not Have No Idea How Your Spend Most people are clueless how they spend their money. They may know how much they spend on rent and other big item monthly expenses, but they don’t know how they spend on groceries, entertainment, medical, transport etc. If you have no idea how you spend, that ignorance means that you have little or no financial discipline, and without financial discipline, there can be no financial freedom. 13) You Should Not Spend More than Your Earn This is a habit cannot be sustained in the long term. It is simple mathematics. The only way it can happen in the short term is if you borrow from a bank or your parents. Over time, it becomes more and more difficult to change this habit because that habit has become more natural to who we are and how we act. And research shows that we automatically favor what is familiar to us—even if we know it's not to our benefit. The challenge is creating a new normal, which involves behavior change. Think about dieting: if you've spent years and years eating the same way, it's obviously very tough to change that pattern. That's true even if you want to change, know you should, and understand what the new pattern would look like. 14) You Should Not Ignore the Importance of Small Changes Getting rich does not require you to make dramatic and radical changes. You need to make small long-term changes and compound them over time. Let me explain with a simple example. Let’s say you live in Cape Town buy a coffee every morning from your corner coffee shop that costs R30. Let’s say you decide, instead of buying that coffee every day, you go to your grocery story and buy coffee pods that cost you R5 per day, and you invest the R25 in the stock market that pays a return of 10 percent per annum. After 30 years, you will have R1.7 million! 15) You Should Not Go to University* This comes with a big caveat. There are certain career paths where a university degree is an absolute necessity, for example, becoming a brain surgeon. There are others in which employers are more flexible. In 2018, job-search site Glassdoor compiled a list of top employers who no longer required applicants to have a college degree. The list included Google, Apple, and IBM. In 2017, IBM’s vice president of talent, Joanna Daley told CNBC that 15 percent of their U.S. company hires do not have a four-year degree. Technology companies, however, were not the first to recognize the limitations of a university degree. In May of 2015, Ernst and Young, one of the big four accounting firms, announced something that surprised everyone. It would remove the degree classification from its entry criteria because it found 'no evidence of a positive correlation' between academic success and achievement at the company. The market value of a university degree has declined while the cost of that education has increased.In the 1980s, a college degree almost guaranteed a job in a specific field of study. This is no longer the case given the higher number of degrees and the shrinking number of jobs on account of technology and automation. 16) You Should Avoid Cheap Stuff Frugality, minimalism and austerity are good attributes for those that want to be financially free. But there is a difference between being frugal and being cheap. There are a few things that you should never buy on the cheap, such as appliances (if you buy cheap, it is likely you will soon need to replace it), mattresses (just think how much time you spend on it), personal safety items (like helmets) and professional services (the good one’s cost money for a reason - they have the proper education, experience and credentials). 17) You Should Not Take Financial Advice from Idiots The barriers to entry into the financial advice market are low. Everyone wants to be an influencer, and everyone is generous with their advice. You need to consider the source of this advice. TikTok has become a fertile breeding ground for misinformation on personal finance. Here is a sample of the worst advice I could find: “starting a corporation can help you to avoid paying taxes”, “anyone can teach themselves how to trade stocks and make millions’, “buyer into newer cryptocurrencies early will make you richer quicker”, “it is impossible to lose money investing in real estate”. All this advice is completely false and should be avoided like poison. 18) You Should Not be Gullible This links back to the previous point, If something is too good to be true, it probably is. When an investment “guarantees” a high return, that is a red flag. The only investment that can truly guarantee a return is a treasury bond issued by the United States Treasury – and even that guarantee is starting to look a little tarnished as the US continues to rack up trillions of dollars in debt. A US treasury can guarantee you a return of around 1 percent. This means that any guarantee above that 1 percent, needs to be questioned. This is my rule of thumb – I am nervous of a guaranteed return between 5 and 10 percent, I am extremely nervous of a guaranteed return between 10 and 20 percent, and any guaranteed return above 20 percent is a scam or highly risky. 19) Do Not Buy a Retirement Annuity Retirement annuities are horrible investments.  The only beneficiary is the annuities salesman. According to billionaire investor Ken Fischer, if you invest $1 million in an annuity you will put a kid through private college. The problem is that it is not your kid. It is the kid of the annuities salesman. Fisher says you would be better off cutting a check directly to the salesperson and then investing the balance directly in stocks and bonds. Do not be fooled by the sales rhetoric. Annuity salespeople will regale you with the tax benefits, the power of compounded growth, the discipline of saving (a lie that we have debunked), supporting your dependents and long term stability. If you are financially educated and disciplined, you can do better with direct investments. Annuities are black-box investments – there is no transparency and accountability of results. The fees are bordering on criminal.  Moreover, when you retire with that annuity, you will get a stream of income akin to a quaint Scottish brook. You deserve the whitewater rapids on the Zambezi River. 20) You Should Not Believe that All Banks are Safe Banks can fail, even high quality banks. We learned this in September 2008 when Lehman Brothers, an A rated bank went to the wall. Even though banks are highly regulated entities, one should not overestimate the skills and intelligence of the people that are applying and enforcing the rules. If you have your savings in a bank (which is not a good strategy due to the low levels of interest rates), make sure that the bank is safe and secure. #finance #money #business #investing #investment #entrepreneur #financialfreedom #success #stocks #wealth #trading #realestate #stockmarket #invest #motivation #forex #bitcoin #investor #accounting #cryptocurrency #marketing #wallstreet #startup #trader #personalfinance #entrepreneurship #credit #smallbusiness #goals

These ten years are crucial in determining your personal and financial future. What you do over these 120 months can either make or break you. To create a life of fulfillment, happiness, and success, start doing these 20 things today. 1) Teach someone something It doesn't have to be something technical or complicated. It could be teaching someone how to ride a bike, solve a maths problem, or open a bank account. That feeling of making a difference in someone's life is an investment in yourself that will stay with you forever. 2) Become a master in something The author Malcolm Gladwell claims you can master anything by dedicating 10,000 hours to it. It could be playing the guitar, or a sporting activity like soccer, road running, or surfing. It does not have to be an activity in your professional realm. This mastery proves your dedication and commitment. It shows you are someone who sets goals, is reliable, and has self-control. 3) Learn a foreign language This gives you an international flavour. I lived in Mexico City for 18 years and mastered Spanish. More than half a billion people in the world speak Spanish - with this doubled the number of people from whom I can ask directions! 4) Save half your income Get into the habit of saving money. Stop spending on unnecessary goods and services, Instead of being a net spender, transform yourself into a champion saver. 5) Invest in the stock market or crypto Don't let your savings lie idly in a bank savings account where your return is below inflation. Make that money work for you through investing it, and watch it grow, 6) Get financially educated Learn about investments, tax, accounting, budgeting, and insurance. Take control of your financial future. Ask other people for advice, gather information, and then make your own informed decisions. Do not get sucked into get-rich-quick schemes, and watch out for dishonest salespeople that are looking to scam you. 7) Exercise regularly A healthy body in a healthy mind. Everyone knows that exercise is good for them, yet many choose to ignore this. Be disciplined. Don't let yourself get overweight - this makes you more prone to heart disease and diabetes. The fitter and healthier you are, the easier it will be for you to put your dent in the universe. 8) Eat healthily Fast food is cheap and delicious, but it is full of empty calories that will clog up your arteries and slow you down. Cut down on sugar, eat lots of vegetables, and healthy proteins and carbs. Stay away from highly processed foods like bread and biscuits. 9) Drink lots of water Water is at the center of your existence. Your body can survive for 25 days without food, but only 3 days without water. It is good for your brain, your skin, and your body, It flushes out toxins and prepares your body for hard work, 10) Protect yourself from the sun Wear lots of sunscreen because the sun is dangerous, Not only can it kill you, but it also causes premature aging. 11) Learn how to cook There are plenty of easy recipes on YouTube. Women love a man who knows his way around a kitchen. I bought the Jamie Oliver book "5 Ingredients: Quick & Easy Food". Every recipe has only 5 ingredients - it doesn't get simpler than that. 12) Take time to learn about yourself Write your life story - divide it into three parts - your past, who you are today, and your plans for the future. In this third part, you need to work out your purpose and mission in life, and where you want to be in 5, 10, or 20.... years 13) Become a minimalist Get rid of all the shit in your life that you never use. Decluttering is a very liberating process. Use this simple rule: if you have not used it in the past 6 months, and do not plan on using it in the next 6 months, either sell it or give it away. 14) Find a mentor/coach Find someone prepared to invest time in your life. They will guide you and teach you, and provide wise counsel on important decisions. 15) Do not ignore your spirituality Spirituality is the connection to something bigger than yourself, and it involves a search for meaning in life. This results in positive emotions, such as peace, awe, contentment, gratitude, and acceptance. 16) Sign up for a class you ordinarily would not go to This doesn't need to be a paid class - you can find free courses on YouTube. You need to make sure that it is outside your normal interests, If you love business and finance, look for something in art, music, or psychology. 17) Make meaningful relationships You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Make sure these people have a positive and meaningful impact on your life, and at the very least do not break you down and make you feel like a loser. 18) Build your professional network Networking will expose you to new ideas, raise your profile, advance your career and build your confidence. 19) Travel Travelling makes you more interesting, exposes you to different cultures, takes you out of your comfort zone, and makes you appreciate home. 20) Love someone deeply, and get your heart broken Alfred Lord Tennyson said, "'tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all". Life is not a fairytale. Getting your heart broken makes you stronger and more resilient to the challenges that life will throw at you. #finance #money #business #investing #investment #entrepreneur #financialfreedom #success #stocks #wealth #trading #realestate #stockmarket #invest #motivation #forex #bitcoin #investor #accounting #cryptocurrency #marketing #wallstreet #startup #trader #personalfinance #entrepreneurship #credit #smallbusiness #goals

Humans are mobile creatures. We feel most confident and fulfilled if we are moving forward and making progress. How do you feel when you are stuck in a traffic jam. I used to live in Mexico City where you could sit for 30 minutes without moving. You feel impotent, frustrated, and depressed. Confidence comes through moving forward and growing. This is how you do it. 1) Do one thing that terrifies you every day Fear is often good because it keeps you alive. Your brain is hardwired for self-preservation, Fear of crossing a busy highway is a good thing. But sometimes fear makes you small, timid, and powerless. For example, fear of rejection may keep you single when you want to be in a relationship. By confronting your fears, you become brave. So, go and speak to that pretty girl or attractive boy in the supermarket, and agree to that public speaking engagement. Take yourself out of your comfort zone and watch how you grow. 2) Be kind to yourself Have you ever noticed that when you read reviews, you always focus on that one negative review? The human brain is hardwired to put more importance on the negative than the positive. That is why there is more bad news out there and why we complain more than we praise. The same is true about how we see ourselves. Don't let that negative voice in your brain put you down. Keep a journal -keep a note of your strengths and daily victories (no matter how small). 3) Set small attainable goals The reason why new years resolutions never last longer than a week is because they are big and unattainable. For example, go to the gym every day for the next year. When you stop after a week, you feel like a loser. Set small daily or weekly goals like spending 5 minutes meditating each day, or drink more water, or eating less sugar. These small changes you make will compound over time and make you feel more successful and self-controlled. 4) Be kind to a stranger Help someone else. Studies have shown that doing things for other people makes you happy. It can be as simple as opening the door for an old lady or as involved as volunteering at a local charity. This act forces you to focus less on your limitations and anxieties, and more on the needs of others. Making a positive impact on the life of someone else is extremely self-empowering. 5) Accept your weaknesses and make them small If you are 5 feet 2 inches, it is unlikely you will ever be a great basketball player. So what? People may tease you and make fun of you. If you have accepted your natural limitations, you have disarmed your bullies. School teaches you to work on your weaknesses. A better approach is to maximize your strengths and accept your weaknesses. Life is hard enough as it is. This will make life a little easier. Define yourself by your strengths - not your weaknesses. 6) Don't be envious Envy fuels a lot of what is posted on social media. Everyone wants to show how great their lives are. How much fun they are having, how successful they are, how happy they are, and how cool their lives are. People looking at this then quickly compare their own lives and come to the conclusion they suck. Be aware that the bulk of what you see is fake. That cool mansion - the guy posting it is probably the pool guy, that Ferrari is being hired for the day, that cool vacation to Bali was paid for by their grandmother and she is renting a room with 9 friends. You never know the full story of the person with whom you are comparing yourself. 7) Take care of yourself physically Get regular exercise, eat healthy foods, get a haircut every 3 weeks, wash your face, and dress well. All these external physical things will automatically make you feel more confident. #finance #money #business #investing #investment #entrepreneur #financialfreedom #success #stocks #wealth #trading #realestate #stockmarket #invest #motivation #forex #bitcoin #investor #accounting #cryptocurrency #marketing #wallstreet #startup #trader #personalfinance #entrepreneurship #credit #smallbusiness #goals

Google “trade forex” and you get almost half a billion results. Forex trading has gone mainstream in the past two decades. A couple of years ago I took an Uber from the Panama City airport – the driver was trading forex while driving! It is easy to understand its popularity – easy to open an account, simple to enter transactions, and it promises to make you rich quick. Here are five reasons you want to stay as far away from this market as possible. 1) The Foreign Exchange Market is too Smart For You Everyone tells you to follow the “smart money.” That is HORRIBLE advice. You should follow the dumb money. Why compete with the smart guys when you can compete with the dumb asses? So where is the smart and clever stupid money located? To answer this question, we go to the greatest financial fuck up in modern economic history – the Great Recession of 2008. The global banking system almost collapsed when Lehman Brothers went bust in September 2008. The crisis gave us an insight into how different markets operate. It separated the smart money from the stupid money. How do we separate the smart and dumb money? I am looking for the market that was the quickest and most efficient to assess the gravity of the crisis, discount all the immediate factors, and then project what would happen in the future. Financial markets are discount mechanisms. .The markets that reacted quickest are smart and the markets that reacted slowest are dumb. The four major markets are equity (stocks), fixed income (bonds), currency (U.S. dollar), and commodity markets. The fifth market is the derivatives market, but it derives its value from these four base markets. The first market to hit the bottom and then recover was the currency market. The U.S. dollar, as measured by the dollar index, cratered one week after the Lehman Brothers collapse on September 22nd and then rallied 17 percent through to March 5th, 2009. Gold reached its minimum point on November 12th, 2008, and then rallied 40 percent to February 20th, 2009. The third market to hit rock bottom was the U.S. Treasury market. The yield on the 3-month treasury dipped into negative territory for one day on December 4th, 2008. This was a point of extreme pessimism showing that people had lost confidence in the banks and were prepared to pay the U.S. Federal Reserve to look after their hard-earned cash. When did the stock market hit the bottom? Three months after the treasury market. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard and Poor's 500 Index found their bottoms on March 9th, 2009. This is the timeline: 22 September 2008: Currencies (U.S. dollar Index) 12 November 2008: Commodities (Gold) 4 December 2008: Bonds (the U.S. 3 month Treasury) 9 March 2009: Equities (Dow Jones and Standard and Poor’s 500 Index) 2) The Forex Market is Manipulated Most countries are either looking to weaken or prevent the strengthening of their currencies. This sounds bonkers and flies in the face of conventional wisdom. Surely a strong currency is a sign that the economy is in good shape and therefore preferable to a weak currency? The reality is that the strong currency does more harm than good. It crimps a country’s exports. If your local currency is strong, it makes your product relatively more expensive in the global marketplace. Assume you are a wine farmer in the Western Cape of South Africa. Your bottle of wine is priced at R300. If the rand is trading at 15 rands to the US dollar, that bottle costs US$20. If the rand strengthens to 10 rands to the dollar, that same bottle of wine now costs $30 – or 50% more. So what happens when a country exports less than it imports? It is akin to spending more than you earn. Think of exports as income and imports as expenses. When a country exports something, it receives money. When a country imports something, it needs to pay. When you spend more than you earn, you create a deficit. You need to fund this deficit by borrowing money. Given that the majority of global trade is denominated in US dollars, most countries need to fund their deficits by borrowing money in foreign currencies. They do this by issuing bonds and selling them to foreigners. In other words, they need to rely on the kindness of strangers. Deficits are perfectly useful provided that foreigners continue with their generosity of buying your bonds, but generosity can be fickle. Countries know this and therefore try to keep their deficits small by weakening their currencies. This leads to currency wars. Currency wars could not be further removed from the reality of conventional warfare. They are stealth battles. No one ever admits to waging a currency war and only surfaces when policymakers are accused of deliberately driving down their exchange rate. Front and center of these wars are the banks – both central and large commercial. When you jump into forex, you are pitting yourself against a competitor that will outmatch you in intelligence, systems, and resources. 3) Forex Trading is Highly Leveraged Forex trading platforms provide leverage and this is reflected in the deposit percentage. For example, if you are required to deposit 10% of the total transaction value as margin and you intend to trade one standard lot of USD/CHF, which is equivalent to US$100,000, the margin required would be US$10,000. Your leverage is 10 times. In other words, your 10,000 dollars gives you exposure to 100,000 dollars. How does this happen? The forex platform is effectively lending you 90,000 dollars. This is very generous of them, but why are they doing this and what does it mean? They are doing it for two reasons – firstly, they will charge you an interest rate on the 90,000 dollars, and secondly, this leverage means you can make money far quicker – and lose money far quicker. Currency pairs are quite volatile – on average they move between 1 and 2 percent every day. Developed country pairs – like the US dollar versus the EURO, will move less than a developed currency pair versus an emerging currency – like the US dollar versus the Mexican peso. This leverage is a two-edged sword – it amplifies the movements of the underlying pair. If you are leverage 10 times (some forex platforms offer leverage as high as 400 times), you can make and lose money 10 times quicker. If the underlying pair moves 1 percent in your favour, you make 10 percent. But if it moves 5 percent against you, you lose 50 percent. This leverage starts to turn the forex market into a casino. 4) Trading is Harder than You Think Mark Twain had the following to say about trading and speculation: “There are two times in a man's life when he should not speculate: when he can't afford it and when he can.” There is a big debate between short-term traders and long-term investors. Are humans better suited for the former or the latter? The average human is not a great trader, because he/she tends to be emotional, especially when it comes to money. When you trade, many emotions bubble to the surface – fear of losing and greed of winning are two of the strongest. It turns out that the fear of losing is far greater than the joy of winning. It is common knowledge that most traders fall into the same trap – they cut their winning trades and hold onto their losing trades. For example, they enter a trade and quickly make 10 percent. They think they are geniuses, close the trade and realize the profit. The same is not true when the trade moves 10 percent against them. Their fear of realizing a loss forces them to hold onto the trade. It goes down another 10 percent, and that same fear paralyzes them further. Before they know it, they are down 30 percent and filled with remorse and self-hatred. It is easier to invest than to trade. To understand this, consider the facts from the stock market. Two of the greatest long-term investors are Warren Buffett, founder of Berkshire Hathaway, and Stephen Schwarzman, co-founder of the private equity firm Blackstone. Both men made their fortunes taking long-term investment bets on companies. As of September 2021, according to the Bloomberg billionaire’s index, Buffett was the 9th wealthiest man in the world with a net worth of $101 billion and Schwarzman was 36th with a net worth of $36.5 billion. We now move across to the hedge fund billionaires. Hedge funds are unconstrained funds that tend to have shorter time frames and therefore are more often associated with trading. According to Bloomberg, the richest hedge fund manager as of September 2021 was James Simons, the founder of Renaissance Technologies, with a net worth of $25.7 billion. Second on the list is Ray Dalio, the founder, and co-chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates was worth $15.6 billion. Simons and Dalio occupied positions 64 and 136 respectively. So let's do some averaging. The average wealth of the top two investors is $68.7 billion while the average wealth of the top two traders is $20.6 billion. The universe is clearly saying to us that long-term investing is more profitable. This is a random exercise but let me tell you one thing for sure – it is easier to replicate the strategies of Buffett and Schwarzman than the strategies of Simons and Dalio. You might say that you will settle for $20.6 billion! Simons and Dalio have both taken trading to Olympic levels – they are the gold medal winners. They have dedicated their lives to their trade, and trading is a zero-sum game. If someone is making one million dollars a day, then someone else is losing one million dollars a day. The average trader is on the losing end of this game. 5) Technical Analysis is Seriously Flawed Technical analysis is the most commonly used trading strategy in Forex. Technical analysis has many merits. Firstly it eliminates the one thing that makes human beings horrific investors and that is emotion. If you look back over the last 50 years, there is one attribute that great investors share - cold-blooded independent thinking. They do not get spooked by market turbulence and they do not get greedy in the face of market exuberance. They are cold, clinical, and unemotional. Technical analysis does not allow you to be emotional and that is good. It strips out almost all emotions from the business of investing. Technicians do not read research reports that are filled with subjective opinions, they do not watch CNBC and get mislead by unscrupulous economists, they do not look at macroeconomic metrics like interest rate cycles and inflation. All they look at all day and every day are price graphs - squiggly lines on a computer screen that provide buy and sell signals. Technicians make money when the currency pairs break out and enter into a strong trend – be it to the upside or the downside. Technicians typically lose money when pairs are range bound or when there is a decline in volatility. Unfortunately, the money they lose in these range-bound markets often exceeds the money they make in trending markets. Technical signals are lagging indicators. Signals are triggered after the fact. This is not a strategy that is going to make you rich. #finance #money #business #investing #investment #entrepreneur #financialfreedom #success #stocks #wealth #trading #realestate #stockmarket #invest #motivation #forex #bitcoin #investor #accounting #cryptocurrency #marketing #wallstreet #startup #trader #personalfinance #entrepreneurship #credit #smallbusiness #goals

In 2018, anthropologist David Graeber published “Bullshit Jobs: A Theory” about the rise of bullshit jobs in the modern economy. The author contends that more than half of societal work is pointless. He describes five types of entirely pointless jobs (source: Wikipedia): flunkies, who serve to make their superiors feel important, e.g., receptionists, administrative assistants, door attendants, makers of websites whose sites neglect ease of use and speed for looks; goons, who act to harm or deceive others on behalf of their employer, e.g., lobbyists, corporate lawyers, telemarketers, public relations specialists, community managers; duct tapers, who temporarily fix problems that could be fixed permanently, e.g., programmers repairing bloated code, airline desk staff who calm passengers whose bags do not arrive; box tickers, who create the appearance that something useful is being done when it is not, e.g., survey administrators, in-house magazine journalists, corporate compliance officers, quality service managers; taskmasters, who manage—or create extra work for—those who do not need it, e.g., middle management, leadership professionals. For 25 years, I worked in a series of bullshit jobs in the finance industry. My jobs were to find creative ways to move money from one account to another. To give me a sense of purpose and meaning, I referred to this as “financial engineering”. Although my jobs did not fit strictly within these five categories, my crisis stemmed from the fact that I was making no positive contribution to society. So, what are the five risks of being stuck in a bullshit job? Risk 1: You are Living in a State of Delusion and Unhappiness People often ask me how they know if they are in a bullshit job. Firstly, It is important to understand that a bullshit job is not the same as a shit job. To understand the difference, let me introduce to you Julio Cesar Cu. He is a sewer diver in Mexico City. His job is to dive into the city’s sewers and clear up blockages. Mexico City boasts more than 20 million inhabitants who produce 12,000 tonnes of waste every day – that is a shit job. Secondly, you will know whether you are in a bullshit job. Your job is pointless – you could take a 3-month vacation and the business would continue uninterrupted. You spend large chunks of your day writing pointless emails, in boring meetings, and your annual performance review is based on your perceived productivity. You have very few objective performance metrics. The goals in a bullshit job are more defensive than offensive. In other words, you are more focused on not fucking up than you are on shooting the lights out. The worst part of the bullshit job is not that it is meaningless – it is that you have convinced yourself that it is meaningful and that you are making your dent in the universe. Humans are mobile creatures. We need to know where we are going. We do not experience any positive emotion unless we have an aim and we are making progress towards that aim. It is not so much the attainment of the goal that is satisfying, it is the process and journey towards the summit. A bullshit job has no aim, has no summit, and therefore is void of fulfillment. Risk 2: You are Supremely Dispensable Everyone knows the old corporate mantra – no one is indispensable. Dispensability is relative. Every organization has its rainmakers who are less dispensable (like Jeff Bezos at Amazon). On the other end of the spectrum are the hundreds of millions of people in the world who have bullshit jobs and are highly dispensable. The problem is that the majority of these people feel very comfortable with their mediocre and meaningless 40 hour-per-week existence. When times are good, this level of comfiness is justified. When times are tough – for example when you are living through a global pandemic – comfiness is the last thing you should be feeling. Risk 3: You are Not Learning any Useful Skills The most important skill in a bullshit job is the art of looking busy, and that doesn’t look so great on your CV. The top job skills in the 21st century are creativity, collaboration, communication, adaptability, leadership, and social skills. Hanging around the watercooler and drooling over the length of the receptionist's skirt does not qualify as social skills. If you are working in a medium to a large-sized corporation, you are becoming an expert in the internal systems and processes of that company, and these skills are not transportable. Alvin Toffler says “the illiterate of the 21st century will not be those that cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn”. The longer you stay in a bullshit job, the more functionally illiterate you become. Risk 4: Your Tolerance to Risk Declines over Time The lure of a steady income with medical and dental, a retirement plan, and paid vacations are often too strong to ignore. These benefits make you feel comfortable. If you are stuck in a bullshit job that does not move you out of your comfort zone, your tolerance to risk is reduced. This creates a dilemma if after 20 years, your loyal employer calls you into his office and tells you the company is taking a new direction and you are not part of those new plans. As a redundant worker that has become a specialist in the bullshit procedures and systems of one company, your employment options are limited. Your only option may be to throw yourself into the tempestuous seas of entrepreneurship. The longer you stay in that bullshit job, the more difficult it will be to adjust to this new higher-risk environment. Risk 5: The Longer You Stay, the Less You Get Paid This is true for all jobs, not just bullshit jobs. According to Forbes, employees who stay in companies longer than two years get paid 50% less. Conventional wisdom flies in the face of this statistic. For the longest time in the history of work, loyalty and dedication to a particular employer have been heralded as the hallmark of the ideal employee beyond just being good at their job. The job market is changing. Job hopping is starting to lose its stigma. The bottom line is this – if you decide to stay in a bullshit job for longer than 5 years, not only will it kill your soul, but you will also be paid less in the process. So how do we unpack this? If having a bullshit job is risking your personal and financial future, should everyone stomp into their boss's offices, plonk down their resignation letters and follow their passions? That would be foolish and irresponsible, especially if you have financial dependents. The journey to financial freedom is exactly that – a journey. It is a process that requires an immense amount of work, effort, and courage. It requires self-belief, determination, discipline, commitment, and a long-term road map. It does not require you to be a genius but it does require you to be curious and open-minded. Albert Einstein said, "I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious". The fact that young Albert boasted an IQ of 160 did not hurt, but winning the cerebral lottery is not a requirement for financial freedom.Life is not a game of poker where you either fold or go all-in. There are fifty shades of grey. You may love your job but hate your employer. You may be a financial adviser in a large brokerage house. Test the waters to see if some of your largest clients would move with you if you decided to jump ship. Set up a side gig as a prelude to making the jump. In 2017, CNN reported that 44 million Americans have a side gig they run in parallel with their full-time job. Perhaps you have a good nose for real estate. Instead of plowing your savings into a money market account, acquire a couple of high-quality apartments and rent them out. Start to develop a stream of income that is independent of your formal employment and see how it pans out. #finance #money #business #investing #investment #entrepreneur #financialfreedom #success #stocks #wealth #trading #realestate #stockmarket #invest #motivation #forex #bitcoin #investor #accounting #cryptocurrency #marketing #wallstreet #startup #trader #personalfinance #entrepreneurship #credit #smallbusiness #goals

The world is full of wonders. The Great Pyramids of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Temple of Artemis, and the Colossus of Rhodes. In finance, there is one single wonder that stands out above the rest – COMPOUNDING. The majority of humans are not aware of this wonder becuase it requires a rare commodity – PATIENCE. We are impatient. We want to get rich quick. The reality is that getting rich requires compounding and patience. Let me explain. Investing $100 per month at a return of 10 percent per year will deliver $226,048 after 30 years. How much would I have after 30 years if, instead of 10%, I generate returns of 20% year. The human brain, in all its feebleness, would reason like this – if I am earning double the return (20 percent instead of 10 percent), it should have double the money - $450,000. What would you say if I said that by doubling the annualized return you would earn TEN times more? Your $100 investment at 20 percent per annum will yield $2,297,783 in 30 years!! Hiow is this possible? Through compounding. Albert Einstein said that the power of compound interest "the most powerful force in the universe" and went on to say..." he who understands it earns it; he who doesn't, pays it." You earn 10 times more with twice the return over 30 years because you are reinvesting your returns. You are earning returns on your returns. This is best understood with a simple example. Assume you invest $100 on day 1 at a return of 20 percent per year. In one year, that $100 has grown into $120. In year 2, again you earn 20%, but on $120. This means that you made $24 which is actually 24 percent on the original $100 invested. Look at how the returns take off the longer you invest. Year 1: $20 (20 percent on $100) Year 2: $24 (24 percent on $100) Year 3: $28.8 (28.8 percent on $100) ……. Year 10: $103 (103 percent on $100) ……. Year 20: $638 (638 percent on $100 ……. Year 30: $3,956 (3,956 percent on $100) By year 30, you are earning an astronomical return on you’re your initial $100 because the investment has snowballed as you reinvest your returns. So how do we put compounding to work? Rebel Finance is built on the foundation of investing more and working less. You will notice that I said “investing”. This is an action verb in the continuous tense. It is an ongoing and continuous process. Many people do not invest because they are under the false impression is that the only way to invest is through large lump sum amounts. So they set off on an investment project religiously putting money away into a low or no interest savings account until they have accumulated enough money to invest. There are two problems with this approach. Firstly your money is laying idle in that account. It is sitting on the couch, binge watching Netflix and getting lazy. It should be in the gym, pumping iron and sweating for you. The second problem is that the money in your savings account is vulnerable to unplanned withdrawals. In moments of carnal weaknesses there is always a temptation to dip your sticky little fingers into the savings jar. For this reason, you need to get into the investing mindset. In the same way that it is important to set short term savings goals, you also need to invest smaller amounts continually and consistently. Now you need to invest your savings into a assets that meet the following requirements: 1) they accommodate small monthly contributions 2) they provide easy liquidity – your investment can be liquidated quickly and without penalty 3) they are transparent – you have pretty good idea as to how they generate revenue 4) they have a long track record of delivering inflation beating returns In my opinion, the assets that best comply with these four requirements are publically listed companies, or the stock market. It is easy to create a debit order off your bank account to commit to a monthly investment into the stock market. Secondly, most stocks are liquid. Thirdly, listed companies need to disclose their financial information every quarter and finally, the stock market is an inflation beater. . Over the past 30 years, the Standard and Poors 500 Index has delivered compounded returns of approximately 10 percent. This is better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick and one needs to take into account that this return includes three major stock market crashes – the dot.com bubble bursting in 1999/2000, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the Great Recession of 2008, and the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020. So what is the plan? Step 1: Relax The stock market brings out the worst in us because we believe it will get us rich quick. Most people are terrified of the stock market because it exhibits wild and volatile swings and this is true – in the short term. The stock market, over the longer term, tends to be more predictable and benign. Your first step is to recalibrate your opinion of the stock market and take a long-term view. You need to be patient and you need to be religiously disciplined in your investment. Step 2: Monthly Contributions – Annual Consultations Every month, you need to commit to investing a minimum amount of cash into the stock market and you are only allowed to check your account statement once per year. Step 3: Choose a Low-Cost ETF I am not a huge fan of ETFs because they are too diversified and at Rebel Finance we discourage investors from committing their money to overly diversified instruments (https://www.rebel-finance.com/post/three-reasons-you-should-never-invest-in-a-well-diversified-portfolio). But we also understand that not everyone has the desire or time to analyze individual stocks, which means an ETFs can be a powerful financial tool. I would recommend a broad-based country or global ETF such as the SPY or IVV. Step 4: At Least $100 (or your local currency equivalent) a Month All you need to do is invest $100 per month. To understand how extremely attainable $100 per month is, I did a quick Google search on what $100 can buy you these days: Eight or ten movie tickets, 10 months of Netflix, four or five new movies on DVD, fifteen used DVDs at a yard sale, lunch for four at a fairly nice restaurant, 40 cheap burgers or 90 candy bars. Happy investing! #finance #money #business #investing #investment #entrepreneur #financialfreedom #success #stocks #wealth #trading #realestate #stockmarket #invest #motivation #forex #bitcoin #investor #accounting #cryptocurrency #marketing #wallstreet #startup #trader #personalfinance #entrepreneurship #credit #smallbusiness #goals