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Good Deal Bad Deal $49.95How do you tell the difference between a good deal and a bad deal? Kim Kiyosaki gives you her secrets in this powerful package that contains a DVD and a workbook |
at richwoman.com or you can buy this at buyillinoisrealestatedvd.com
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1. To get where you want to go, you need to know where you are.
Complete your own financial statement. This is your first step in taking control of your financial future. How much passive income do you have today?
2. Pay yourself first.
Put aside a set percentage from each paycheck or each payment you receive from other sources. Deposit that money into an investment savings account. Once your money goes into the account, NEVER take it out, until you are ready to invest it.
3. Look for real estate “for sale” signs in your area.
Call on three or four and ask the brokers to tell you about the properties. Find a real estate investor (mentor) and ask them to visit a property with you to tell you what to look for.
4. Attend business opportunity conventions or trade expos.
See what franchise or business systems are available in your area.
5. Who you spend your time with is your future.
Surround yourself with people who will support you, not discourage you.
6. TAKE ACTION!
Put a little money down. Start small. It’s amazing how quickly you learn when you have real money in the deal. Make mistakes, learn from them, and then take action again!
7. Set a long-term financial goal for where you want to be in five years.
Also set a smaller short-term goal for where you want to be in twelve months. Passive income is the key.
8. How do you spend your spare time?
Commit five hours of your time each week to do one of the following:
- Read the business page and The Wall Street Journal
- Read financial magazines and newsletters
- Listen to the financial news on television or radio
- Listen to educational material on investing and financial education
- Play CASHFLOW® 101
9. Meet with a business broker to see what existing businesses are for sale in your area.
It is amazing what you can learn by just asking questions and listening
10. Find people in your area to play CASHFLOW® with or create your own circle.
Visit RichDad.com and click on CASHFLOW CIRCLES in the Message Forum to find people in your area who play CASHFLOW® 101
11. TAKE ACTION!
Start small, learn from our investing mistakes, and continue your financial education.
Financial education is a life-long process and couples who are like-minded when it comes to the importance of growth – both personal and professional – have an edge in taking their relationship to the next level. Our success in achieving the goals we set for ourselves is dependent upon many factors. Some of them we can’t control. But many we can.
The commitment to becoming financially free requires more than simply beginning the journey. A key component to success on your journey – and maximizing the exhilaration of the ride – revolves around your traveling companion.
A partner who is like-minded and with whom you share common goals and values can be one of your biggest assets. Likewise, a partner who is NOT committed to the same level of growth can hold you down, pull you back – ultimately keep you from reaching your goals.
It should not be surprising to learn that Robert makes no bones about the importance of being on the ‘same page’ as your partner. In fact, I might go as far as to say that in addition to alignment on the ‘page’ you’d be well served to be in tune on ‘chapter’ and ‘verse’ as well. In his own words: “If your partner is not 100% behind you, you have 0% chance of manifesting your full potential.” How’s that for definitive.
Please know that I use the term ‘partner’ loosely. It could be your spouse, your SO (“significant other”), or even a business partner. The same principles apply in every case.
Who are You Spending Time With?
Have you ever heard the comment, “Tell me who your friends are… and I’ll tell you where you’re going?” I’ve always believed that we’re judged, in large part, by the company we keep. And it’s our choice (one of those controllable factors!) when it comes to how we spend our time – and with whom.
Robert’s variation on that theme goes something like this: “Who are the six people you spend the most time with?” I’ll never forget the first time I heard him ask a group that question. The names of friends, and family, came to mind immediately. But so did the names of friends who (though still ‘friends’…) we were spending less and less time with. For the first time, I realized why.
Without a conscious effort we had, over the past five years, shifted our circle of closest friends to those with whom we had the most in common, certainly, but also to those who pushed us to the limits of our comfort zones – and beyond. Those who refused to be complacent and comfortable and who challenged those around them to ‘step up’… or get out of the way.
Those were the kinds of friends we tried to be and we found two things were happening: We were attracting like-minded people with common goals and spending less time with those who preferred to simply tread water.
I remember thinking that if our circle of friends could so directly and powerfully influence our success in the journey to financial freedom, how critical it was for one’s partner to be on the same wave length when it came to vision for the future and a commitment to life-long learning.
Games Reflect True Behavior
I remember the good-natured laughter when I heard Robert coach a young couple to “play the CASHFLOW game together” before they decided to get engaged to be married. “Don’t you want to see the way he manages his finances?” he asked the young woman. “If he’s a wimp or a miser – you may change your mind about beginning a life together!” (Please note that the same is true for men who can observe the behavior of a would-be life partner!)
Because games reflect true behavior, playing the CASHFLOW game as part of the courting process isn’t such a bad idea. You can learn a lot about someone from the way they play games – especially CASHFLOW. Each turn showcases how we handle money, adversity, challenges and investment opportunities. How are people reacting to the aspects of life that are beyond their control? What choices are they making?
In a segment on ‘Money and Marriage,’ ABC News reported: “A lot of folks fight over money, and that can destroy a marriage in a hurry. A study conducted by The Journal of Socio-Economics shows that couples fought a lot less about religion, alcohol, and other women, than they did over money.”
In regards to couples disputing over finances, MSN Money quotes Olivia Mellan, a therapist who specializes in helping people with money problems, as saying, “It’s always what the money represents: dependency, control, freedom, security, pleasure, self worth.”
Choose Your ‘Investments’
We can invest time and energy with our partner to determine the best plan for growing and learning together – for staying in synch on your vision for the future. But know that even though this may “make sense,” it isn’t always easy. This can be especially true when you’re forced to face the brutal facts about ‘where you are’ financially and the realities of what it will take to make lasting change a reality.
Working toward a shared vision for the future and supporting each other through the rough spots that are sure to develop is a great first step. Being realistic is critical. Very likely, it took you a considerable amount time to get where you are and things don’t – won’t – change overnight.
Set ambitious but attainable goals for yourselves and benchmarks along the way. This will help in gauging your progress and give you “wins” to celebrate together.
There’s nothing more exhilarating and empowering – and satisfying – than knowing you have a partner you can count on to support your joint decisions, challenge you to be the best you can be, and share the struggles that will give you strength to be the companion who makes every celebration of every success that much sweeter.
Togetherness…
One young couple in their early thirties drove from Tucson to Phoenix each week for the class and began to look forward to the two-hour drive because it gave them time to talk about what they had learned and how they would use that knowledge to reach their goals.
With so many “unknowns” on the financial horizon, it makes sense to create a proactive plan for taking a firm rein on those aspects of life that we CAN control. A partner with whom you share an excitement for learning and personal growth is an important aspect of life that IS within your control.
Life’s about choices: partners, friends, education – even ‘deals.’ Make 2007 your year to choose well.
Real estate can be one of the most stable methods of investing today. Unlike the “wows” of the stock market, real estate can be a consistent way for people to extend their wealth ratio. However, many new investors make the mistake of investing with their heart instead of their head. An old cliché reminds us that “You make your money in real estate when you BUY, not when you SELL.” With that in mind, it is important that we make good BUYING decisions in everything, especially with real estate.
And it’s your mind that must be ready to play the game. If you invest with your heart, you will make decisions based on what you feel. And soon . . . what you feel will get you into investments that you should never have considered. Mixing business with emotions worn on your sleeve can mean you’ll constantly be hurt. Sometimes it’s impossible to divorce the two – but it’s usually a formula for problems.
Think Outside the Box
One of the hardest things for new investors to do is to “Think Outside the Box.” Many of us operate everyday the same way we did yesterday. Why? Because it’s the most comfortable way to operate. But if you choose to play The Real Estate Mind Game, you will have to be as creative as possible and even invent new ways in your mind that you can accomplish the same task. The key to remember is to learn something new everyday until you routinely expand your comfort zone.
First let’s focus on practicing the art of thinking outside of the box. To begin to develop new habits, you must be willing to be more creative and operate outside the normal realm. Perhaps you can start by stretching your comfort zone to do things you would not ordinarily do.
It’s a known fact that if you can repeat an activity for 18 or more consecutive days, you have a new habit in the making. So try these few exercises (or create a few of your own) for the next 18 days to jumpstart a new level of operating:
Now, fast forward this mental process to real estate investing.
When we first began studying the markets and actively looking for investment opportunities, we looked at everything. We really had not (yet) totally grasped the idea that (more often than not) deals are made, not born. So we analyzed every deal that was presented to us. At that time, it did two things for us: (1) We got used to looking at multiple deals everyday and analyzing how we could make them work for us (extending our analysis comfort zone to process information quicker) and (2) we practiced using our minds (not our hearts) to create as many ways as we could to get into the deal. Our deal acceptance ratio today is significantly higher than when we first began.
By the end of that first year in business, we were better at pricing and getting into deals. It wasn’t until we knew we needed to generate cash and cash flow that we realized that we had not practiced exploring all the various exit strategies – whether we needed to employ them or not. This is even more important than the entry into a deal, because how you exit will fundamentally determine how you will enter a deal. When we made this connection, an entirely new world of thinking opened up to us. That’s when we knew our mind was expanding – and our emotions were being managed.
Decisions of the Head vs. Decisions of the Heart
The key to knowing and making decisions of the head is to know yourself and your tolerances. Many of us don’t spend enough time to get to know ourselves. Believe it or not, not knowing yourself will lead to many a ‘heart’ decision because you will ultimately do what feels right to do, even if your head is telling you to go the other way.
Compare the following and see where you fit…
A head decision tells you that you are insane to think that if you don’t take action to change your life, that it will just change automatically.
A heart decision will tell you to stay where you are because you need benefits or a steady paycheck. Consider this: we are all good leaders and followers at something depending upon our comfort level and what we choose to do with our talent.
A head decision will tell you that you need to change the way you are operating because you are getting nowhere faster today than you did yesterday.
A heart decision will ask you when do you have the time to introduce anything new into your already busy life.
A head decision will tell you to investigate all the possible avenues to maximize your opportunity.
A heart decision will compel you to ask what other people think about your opportunity – regardless of the fact that it’s ultimately your decision. (This can be a very dangerous place to be because chances are you’ve already made up your mind and anyone who invalidates your decision or thinking is somehow attacking you. (Your heart can be attacked but your mind can be challenged.)
A head decision will allow you to discern good information from bad – regardless of where it comes from – and determine what is in your best interest at this time.
A heart decision will cause you feel intimidated by people around you who may know more than you and operate at a higher level. The thing to remember is that we are all infants in some areas of our lives and adults in other areas . . . and where you are in your thought process doesn’t have any bearing on who you are.
Remember, people often criticize in others the very things that are lacking in them. It’s not because you are worse off, but because they are no better off. Don’t fall into that trap. Experience the exhilaration that comes from being around people who can take you to the next level.
A head decision will tell you the numbers surrounding a deal do not really produce your desired result.
A heart decision will tell you to go ahead with your deal and the numbers ‘will work themselves out.’
A head decision will tell you that “money pit” is written all over the deal.
A heart decision will tell you that you need to “up” your offer because this is really the deal of a lifetime and you do not want it to slip away.
A savvy investor will be able to marry both head and heart decisions to logical and sound next actions. You can’t become a savvy investor if you read all the books in the world on investing and never do a single deal. Lessons can’t be learned if you fail to extend yourself beyond your comfort zone. Why? Because what you do should always push the boundries of your comfort zone, which incidentally, is based on emotions.
Wisdom doesn’t come by osmosis but rather by studying and actively applying what you’ve learned everyday and surrounding yourself with people who are doing what you ultimately want to do. This may occur by changing the people with whom you currently associate so that you are in an environment conducive to change and expansion.
Remember, you have to continually challenge yourself to win the ‘mind over what really matters’ game – everyday. Enjoy learning and wisdom will follow.
Bad debt makes you poor. Bad debt is debt for something that buys a liability that takes money out of your pocket. In order to take control of your cash flow, you must drive down your bad debt.
Steps to Drive Down Bad Debt
Take Stock of Your Credit Card Debt
Take all of your credit cards out of your wallet or purse. Check the various outstanding balances on each one.
- Pay Off Credit Cards with the Smallest Debt First
Take the credit cards with the smallest amount of debt on them, and pay them in full first. Then, once you have paid off those cards, call the credit card companies and cancel them.- Pay Off Your Remaining Credit Card Debt
Once you have the credit cards with the smaller amounts of debt paid off, do the same with your remaining credit cards. Keep whittling away at that outstanding debt until it’s gone.- Pay Off the Mortgage on Your Home
When you have the credit card debt melted down, take the extra money you have and start to paying off the mortgage on your home.
Please understand that this is a process that, in most cases, cannot be accomplished in just one or two months. Depending on how much cash you have, this process of whittling down your credit card debt may take several months, or even years. But do it—because it’s a wonderful financial feeling when you no longer are a slave to those monthly bills. Even better, you’ll discover that you now have extra cash each month to pay off other debt.
The best news is that those individuals who have the willpower to follow these simple measures will find themselves financially solid and free of major debt within a matter of a few years. It may sound impossible to you in your current financial situation, but these measures will work for you.
“Inherently, each one of us has the substance within to achieve whatever our goals and dreams define. What is missing from each of us is the training, education, knowledge and insight to utilize what we already have.” – Mark Twain
FACT: Selling is the only profession wherein your potential earnings are beyond what 95% of the world’s population could ever earn – but only if you know how to close the sale. Selling is a wonderful profession – but because it is oftentimes difficult to become successful at it, it is also considered one of the toughest professions in the world.
As a salesperson, you need to be thankful that making the sale is so difficult, because if it were easy, the field would be flooded with amateurs — and the amount of money you could earn would be greatly reduced. Your job is to find ways to make the sales process easier so that you can become one of the highest paid people in your field, if not the world.
The Major Challenge in Selling
Closing the sale is perhaps the most stressful and challenging part of the sales process. This is where the rubber meets the proverbial road.
Hi, I’m Rhon Daguro - and there are secrets I know that can unlock the real firepower that lies dormant in your very own selling skills, and these secrets will change the course of your sales career forever. I’m going to reveal 3 closing secrets that can easily triple your sales in the next 90 days.
Killer Closing Secret #1: The Preference Close
The first technique is the Alternative Close – also called the Preference Close. It is based on the fact that people like to have choices. They don’t like to be given what may sound like an ultimatum to either buy it or not buy it.
To apply this technique, you simply structure your close by saying, “Which of these would you prefer, A or B?”
With the alternative close, whichever one the customer selects, you would have made a sale either way. You should always try to give the customer two choices. Even if you are selling a single product, you can give him two choices with regard to payment, or delivery. For example, “Would you like this delivered to your office or to your home address?” “Will that be MasterCard or Visa?” “Would you like the ATM 26 or the ATM
30?” And so on.
Killer Closing Secret #2: The Secondary Close
The second closing technique is the Secondary Close. This is extremely popular. It is a way of helping a customer make a big decision by having him make a small decision that infers the big decision. Instead of asking the customer to go ahead with the product or service, you ask a question about a peripheral detail, the acceptance of which means that he has decided to buy the larger product.
For example, you could ask, “Would you want this shipped in a wooden crate, or would cardboard be all right?” “Would you like us to include the drapes and rods in the offer?” “Did you want the standard rims or would you like the customized racing rims
on your car?”
In each case, if the customer agrees to or chooses the smaller item, he has indirectly said, “yes” to the entire offering. People often find it easier to agree to small details than they do to making a larger commitment. That’s why this is sometimes called the Incremental Close, where you get commitment bit by bit to the entire offer.
Killer Closing Secret #3: The Authorization Close
The third closing technique is the Authorization Close, which is often used to conclude multimillion-dollar transactions. At the end of the sales conversation, the salesperson simply asks if the prospect has any questions or concerns that haven’t been covered. If the prospect has no further questions or concerns, the salesperson takes out the contract, opens it up to the signature page, places a check mark where the customer has to sign, and pushes it over to him saying, “Well then, if you will just authorize this, we’ll get started on it right away.” The word “authorize” is better than the word “sign.” A check mark is better than an X. Offering to “get started right away” is better than sitting there hoping for the best.
However you do it, be prepared to ask for the order in whichever ways seem appropriate at the moment.
Some quick things I did in the restructuring phase
1. Sounds like common sense, but this is not easy because of the run around and time to call, but call every single card and ask to them to lower your interest rate. 40% will do it right away, 30% will have to do more income verification, and 30% will just say no. Being very very nice, you say that you’d like to stay with them, but you were offered a lower interest credit card and wanted to give them a chance to keep you as a customer.
2. Then of my credit cards, make sure I pay the min payment only, except for the one I plan to payoff first.
Put as much money towards paying off this card as possible. Once its paid off, then ask the credit company for a credit line increase and a lower interest rate. Then find your highest interest card
and move as much balance to that card you just paid off. (goal is to move all existing debt into the
lowest interest rates possible, then payoff will be faster and easier)
3. The fastest way to knock out cards is one at a time and the lowest balances first. As you clear cards, DO NOT CLOSE THEM, you ask for an increase and you ask for a lower rate, and move the debt to lower
interest cards. This makes sure that whatever monthly payment amounts you reduce, the excess money goes toward paying off the card you have chosen to pay off. Just keep going down the line.
4. If you do this strategy, you will increase all your credit limits, will have the lowest rates possible, and be able to pay off your cards faster.
5. Some accelerators are re-finances, and I have contacts that can refi your place over the phone with no appraisers. Use refi’s to knock out high interest credit card debt. Plus the Refi Loan interest is tax deductible.
6. This plan takes you about 2 years or more to knock out all your credit cards (while still having a life) if all you did was pay your bills. But while you’re doing your restructuring, you would have started your learnings on how to analyze properties or use me to help you find investment properties. I will analyze any property you look at and help you and give you my opinion.
Now for each credit card, you need to audit the max limit, the interest rate, along with the monthly payment.
Identify the credit cards with the lowest rate and the lowest balance, call these cards and ask for a credit increase of about double of the current max. So if its $1500 max, ask for $3,000 max. This creates room to move high interest credit cards to the lower interest credit card. Be sure to negotiate low balance transfer fees and special balance transfer rates.
If you’re like me and are not getting new credit offers in the mail, this technique restructures your existing monthly expenses to be the lowest possible so that when you make payments, you’re paying more off.
Restructuring your finances is a simple exercise, possibly tedious exercise, but will put your mind at ease and give you confidence before you make that first move into investing.
The first thing we do in a restructure is to first document your current situation. Simply pull out a piece of paper or open up an excel file and start listing all your debt like this:
Chase Card $2,000
Bank of America $5,000
Citibank $1500
Then your expenses from this debt per month, like this:
Chase Card $77
Bank of America $125
Citibank $95
Phone $45
Cell Phone $69
Gas $200
etc…
We are just taking an inventory. Then list down your monthly income. Subtract your monthly income from your monthy expenses and you now have your current existing cash flow.
In the DVD, I talk about the three types of investments, stocks, business, and real estate. I found this website called Prosper.com and this website allows you to be in the business of lending money. You get to be a banker and you can lend out money to customers who currently are paying their debts to a different creditor at a higher interest rate.
Sometimes you can get 12% up to 22% interest on your money based on a 3 year time period. This return blows away what you make at the banks. There is no tenants, no property to maintain, and you get to pick who you want to lend money to.
I do not endorse prosper.com, well at least not yet. I’m trying to see if I can make an 18% return on my $200 that I just loaned out.
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