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1). A Love/Hate Relationship: How your credit score can open and slam doors for you There are many ways to get ahead financially: attend seminars where you cut up your credit cards with hundreds of other people, participate in debt consolidation services that help you take out a home equity loan or refinance your home, or you can transfer debt on one credit card to another credit card with an introductory rate of 0% (which goes up... 2). Action Plan: How to power down your debt NOW It will take you on average between 25 to 30 years to pay off your credit card at the minimal amount. This will not do. Make a list of all of your credit cards (including all consumer debt such as doctor bills, furniture stores and your home). List the following in columns: the type of credit card, principle amount, regu... 3). Chew slowly and digest the rules It’s hard to understand all of “the rules” and fine print on all of our policies since we have limited time. But it’s imperative you take the time to become familiar with your coverage. Go through your mortgage, note, insurance, bank statements, employment contract, tax deductions, shareholders agreement—at least once, then briefly once a year afte... 4). Do you have good posture? When I started saving, I wasn’t saving much. However, I developed an important habit. Whether you’ve wisely saved money or received a good tax return, don’t go out and blow it on more stuff. You can have anything you want, you just can’t have everything you want. A.F. Bannerman once shared wise advice worth mentioning here that I’ve come to agree w... 5). Emergencies-Are you prepared? A young man got into a car accident resulting in many bedridden months in the hospital and $100,000 of debt in hospital bills. Pathfinder’s “Mastering Your Money” series originated from this true story. The young man decided to pay off his debt in small amounts each month instead of filing for bankruptcy. When he was released from the hospital, he ... 6). Entity Structuring Entity structuring is the use of limited partnerships, limited liabilities, and corporations. These can help you accomplish three things: 1. Bullet-proofing your assets so that the bad guys are worse of if they try and take them away from you. 2. Slashing your taxes so that they are within single digits. 3. Protecting your privacy... 7). Financial Vertigo Although Pathfinder focuses on generating money, this lesson covers one of the biggest misconceptions we have about money: if we make more money, we’ll be better off. It doesn’t matter how much money we make, but rather how we spend and save it. Take two Pathfinder clients as examples: Client A worked at Home Depot making $30,000 a year and had his... 8). Heads up on co-signing loans In my opinion, if you co-sign a loan with a family member or a friend, you’re looking for trouble. Granted, if you want to help your child buy his first car, you may need to co-sign because the child does not have credit history yet. The danger is that if your son makes a late payment, the bank will come to you to pay it off. Be extremely judicious... 9). How many years do you have left until you're 65? Reality Check - How many years do you have left until you're 65? Whether retirement is just around the corner or have many more years to go, setting yourself up for retirement is key and must start now. Do the math. If you want $10,000 and you’re investing at 5 percent, you need $3,765. If you invest at 10 percent, you’ll need $1,400. It’s gr... 10). It’s no Secret—We’re getting older and broker Not so fun facts: • By 2015, 77 million Americans will be over 50 years old and only approximately one-third of them will be able to retire. • During the economic boom in 1997, the average net worth of the richest 1 percent of families was $9.7 million, while the bottom 40 percent’s average net worth was $3,000. So if you... 11). Money is Emotional Pathfinder operates on 10 principles originating from books “Money Mastery” by Alan Williams and Peter Jeppson and “The Richest man of Babylon” by George Clason as well as information I’ve learned over the years. Principle No. 1: money is emotional. When we make and spend money, it’s an emotional event. When we get a raise, we celebra... 12). Navigating the promotional maze Pros and cons to three hot topics Invited to be officer on the board—flattering or dangerous? Officer and director liability is staggering. If a friend of yours is starting a company or charity and she asks you to sit on the board, carefully make your decision to accept or decline the position. If a mistake happens and the shareh... 13). Pay yourself first Schools do not teach thrift: college, high school, junior high—our system doesn’t place a high priority on frugality. And what a shame. We should put money aside regularly using a simple system—pay yourself first. For example, when you pay your utility bill, pay yourself first. I’ve talked to people who have mastered saving money who ... 14). Repairing Your Credit Report Fixing your credit report and repairing your credit are two distinct processes and problems. If your credit is bad, you can implement some of the strategies below to fix a low score. Negotiate down the amount of debt (it’s easiest with private individuals). To do this, you must demonstrate the reason for falling behind. One of the tool... 15). ROI-calculating accurately The phrase "return on investment" (ROI) is thrown around a lot, but do you know what it really means and how to calculate it? Three ways to calculate ROI Cash-on-cash If $20,000 is invested and it grows by $10,000, it’s a 50 percent cash-on-cash rate of return, which is great for wealth building. Total amount of investment... 16). Smart Yearend Planning - Tax Deductions There are three main areas we need to keep in mind as the year ends: 1. Taxes 2. Corporate formalities 3. Planning for next year Revisit the idea of converting your 10 largest expenses. This is an ongoing process that should be done at least twice the first year. It’s not realistic to expect you will convert all... 17). Smart Yearend Planning-Corporate Formalities There are three main areas we need to keep in mind as the year ends: 1. Taxes 2. Corporate formalities 3. Planning for next year The power of documentation—shifting the burden of proof For those who have an LLC (opposed to a sole proprietorship, S Corporation or C Corporation), it’s always better to over-documen... 18). Smart Yearend Planning-Planning for the next year There are three main areas we need to keep in mind as the year ends: 1. Taxes 2. Corporate formalities 3. Planning for next year Planning for the next year a) Operations—What are one or two areas of your business that can be improved? How can you improve your service, stay in better touch with clients, cl... 19). Take Waste Out Of Your Spending Buyer Beware: The ability to save money has nothing to do with income. Take waste out of your spending and you’ll drive the haste out of your life. Continue to learn “the rules,” as they’re always changing. Learn the rules We’re not taught “the rules” in school—high school, college, law school. So we go through life in the ... 20). The Two Biggest Thieves In Regards To Wealth Building The two biggest wealth thieves a person will encounter are tax deductions and lawsuits. Taxes work against you by chipping away at your wealth. These include federal income taxes (deducting up to 39% of your income), state taxes (deducting up to 9.6%), and self employment or social security (over 15.5 %.). The average American is paying 42-55% in t... 21). Tips to Avoid Identity Theft What is rampant, spreading like wildfire and can kill life as you know it? No, not a deadly virus (but close). Answer: Identity theft. My stepson, Aaron, was a victim of identity theft recently. Someone stole his bank cards, deposited fake checks into his account, then withdrew cash. The deposited fraudulent checks and overdraft charges hurt his cr... 22). Uneducated Tax System v. Educated Tax System The line under your income on your pay stub is where these two systems differ. With the uneducated tax system, you deduct the three lines under your income and the remainder is what you receive. With the educated tax system, the first line is your reported income as with the uneducated tax system. However, the second line is the money you spent on ... 23). Views are Spectacular Off the Beaten Path When I was practicing law, my colleagues would talk about how lucky they were to put their kids through college or. “I don’t know how we did it, but we put the kids through college , and now we’re hoping to start saving for retirement,” they’d say. In reality, they were saying much more—“Wow! We’re so lucky to barely be able to put the kids through... 24). Wealth Building Tips from Drew The big O—Organize! Get organized, period. Pathfinder advocates separate files for each expense: utilities, phone, electric, Internet, auto, etc. Each month, invoices (such as repairs or maintenance) go in those files. The invoices are then categorized by group and chronologically (ex. January car bills, February car bills, etc.). When 2007 c... 25). Why is it so hard to get ahead? My grandfather bought his house for $6,500. He had no retirement after 20+ years of working for the same employer. They gave him $100 each month in lieu of a retirement check. He saved more than $200,000 over the course of his life. My grandfather clearly had respect for money. Our culture today has lost sight of this respect. Today’s...