Ok, i've been reading this site for a while (but not this particular forum) but havent contributed much in the way of bodybuilding knowledge so I'll try and help out in the business forum where I'm a bit more knowledgable!
Some basic rules I used/use to increase wealth:
-pay your debts first. Try and knock off your credit card debts and personal loans as quickly as possible. I live in Australia and the interest rate on my credit card is around 20%! If you can put any extra cash you have towards your debts you'll save yourself paying interest on interest on interest etc which can mount up quickly.
-pay yourself first. After your debts are paid off, when you get your paycheck put away a specific amount away before you spend anything. For instance, I get paid on the 15th of each month, and religiously on the 15th of each month after I get paid I transfer $750 to a high interest bank account (which has no fees). Now any money I have left after contributing this $750 I can spend on bills/food/necessities/luxuries whatever. The amount you put in can be as little as $50 per month or whatever you can afford, you'll be surprised how quickly it adds up.
-own your home. Not sure about the rest of the world but in Australia your home is exempt from capital gains tax. For instance, if you bought your home for $500,000 3 years ago and sold it for $600,000 this year, you would pay no tax on the $100,000 profit you made. See my point above about paying off debts, any extra money left over should go towards your homeloan. An extra $50 per week can knock tens of thousands of dollars of interest and years off a 25 year loan.
-If you do not want to put extra money into your homeloan (or you own your home) then put any extra money you have into your high interest savings account (point 2 above). Once you have a reasonable amount in there (can be as little as $1000) you can start looking into other financial investments, such as managed funds or shares (stocks to you Americans!)
-seek professional financial help. You dont have to be wealthy to use a financial planner, most financial planners will be willing to help anyone with more than about $5000. This is certainly the case in Australia.
This is a rough outline, it is obviously more complicated than this but its a good start.
Some basic rules I used/use to increase wealth:
-pay your debts first. Try and knock off your credit card debts and personal loans as quickly as possible. I live in Australia and the interest rate on my credit card is around 20%! If you can put any extra cash you have towards your debts you'll save yourself paying interest on interest on interest etc which can mount up quickly.
-pay yourself first. After your debts are paid off, when you get your paycheck put away a specific amount away before you spend anything. For instance, I get paid on the 15th of each month, and religiously on the 15th of each month after I get paid I transfer $750 to a high interest bank account (which has no fees). Now any money I have left after contributing this $750 I can spend on bills/food/necessities/luxuries whatever. The amount you put in can be as little as $50 per month or whatever you can afford, you'll be surprised how quickly it adds up.
-own your home. Not sure about the rest of the world but in Australia your home is exempt from capital gains tax. For instance, if you bought your home for $500,000 3 years ago and sold it for $600,000 this year, you would pay no tax on the $100,000 profit you made. See my point above about paying off debts, any extra money left over should go towards your homeloan. An extra $50 per week can knock tens of thousands of dollars of interest and years off a 25 year loan.
-If you do not want to put extra money into your homeloan (or you own your home) then put any extra money you have into your high interest savings account (point 2 above). Once you have a reasonable amount in there (can be as little as $1000) you can start looking into other financial investments, such as managed funds or shares (stocks to you Americans!)
-seek professional financial help. You dont have to be wealthy to use a financial planner, most financial planners will be willing to help anyone with more than about $5000. This is certainly the case in Australia.
This is a rough outline, it is obviously more complicated than this but its a good start.
