What are You Building?

Lately I've been reading tons of books. People have told me that I'm frying my brain, but I hope that I'm adding wrinkles to it everyday. I am really serious about getting financially free and so should you. I have been somewhat disappointed in some of the reactions that I have received from this blog. I think many of us are afraid. I sincerely believe that as you read this, you actually believe you can't be free. Believe it or not but my sources have even given me the inside track on what you might be thinking. You might believe that good things like that don't happen to people like us. Am I close? Trust me, I've ran these doubts across my head many times. Look at the position I have put myself in. If I fail, (and I don't intend on doing that) I've created a blog to document it so everyone can see-including strangers. But, others might say "I'll wait to see if he can do it" and that'll prove that any old "Joe" can achieve it. I would advise you not to wait. It might be quite some time before I see any results because my dreams are BIG.

By establishing this blog, I have suppressed my fear an established my goals. Many people don't tell others their goals because for the fear of not meeting them. Is this you? Maybe you don't even want to be wealthy because of the the stereotype that wealth is not enough to give us happiness. True, but remember, poverty makes happiness nearly impossible. Which one are you willing to bet your life on? Whatever the reason why you don't think wealth can come to you, leave it behind. Stand up for your dreams and start planning. Stay Focused! Set your goals and tell others about them. Make your goals count and look for others to push you to achieve them. Surround yourself with success. If you are surrounded by "non-believers", use them as motivation to make your visions into realities.

My dad is a multi-skilled man. I always seen him as a man that could build and repair anything. From cars to the toilet-in-the-house with nine people waiting to use it, he could fix it. As for me, I might be able to fix some things, but there might be some "extra" parts laying around. I was more of a painter with my brothers. I could never really construct anything, but me and my friend Keith always managed to build cool clubhouses. We didn't always have the materials but we could make a "mansion" from some plywood. All it took was a little imagination. There is a story that I read not too long ago that goes like this:
Three bricklayers were working side by side.

When asked, "What are you doing?", the first bricklayer replied:

"I'm laying bricks."

When the second bricklayer was asked. He answered,

"I'm building an arch."

When the third bricklayer when asked the question,

"What are you doing?", responded,

"I'm building a cathedral."

Here is your plywood: What do you plan on doing with it?

Debt Relief

I finally got the website for the tools I personally use to Get Out of DEBT. Click on my Green Icon or here
http://www.leoquinn.com/cmd.php?Clk=1826063

Check it out and get yourself Signed UP! I wouldn't steer your wrong.

A CD i wouldn't get again.

During my first deployment to Iraq, I figured I should do something with the extra money that I was making for going to war. Although it wasn’t much, any extra pay in the military is good. After paying some bills and I realized that I hadn’t saved much money at all. This is when I decided to take on the first and one of the most basic ideas of investing, CD’s. A certificate of deposit is similar to a savings account that you can get through your local bank or credit union that earns interest. You really can’t go too wrong with these because there is minimal risk. The down fall is thought that you don’t earn very much. I had Security Service Credit Union, which may I add is horrible!! I think their name should be Security Service Fee Credit Union. Anyway, through them I was able to transfer money from my checking account to the CD. It was pretty simple and I was able to watch the interest I accrued at the end of the month. Like I said, I didn’t know anything about investing and I figured that this is simple and I was making money. Well, I was making more like cents. It had a poor return rate of about 4%, but usually you can decide the maturity and that determines the rate you get. Regardless of the term period you get though, unless you have millions to put in these things, don’t bet your retirement on them. It is a good way to start but if you have bigger plans, dreams and wealth you should pass. What you are doing is basically giving the bank money at a low rate so they can lend it to your neighbor for double the rate. Some banks have “rate-climbers”, but even then you are only going to get about the national average. I stayed with the CD until it was mature and then I withdrew. Here is where I made a mistake that I regret. Not knowing too much about investing, I figured that it was a waste of time because I didn’t make very much off of it. So guess what I did? If you said, “Spent it” you are absolutely correct. So one thing that I have learned about investing is that I won’t stick to it unless I see good results. So if you didn’t know anything about CDs I hope I was able to shed some light on them today.

The Rock and the View

Yesterday, I tried an indoor rock climbing event at Bass Pro Shop and I got to tell you, I was a little scared at first. My wife actually did it first because she's more of the roller-coaster thrill type of person where I'm the type just trying to stay alive and not give death any help. But yesterday as she was on the rock I could easily see where she needed to put her hand and foot next where she could not. I was like "right there, don't you see it". She had a different prospective which made it much more difficult. I wasn't planning on doing it until I saw that she didn't make it all the way to the top and i figured "I'll show her!" So as I started, I had the same difficulty. I couldn't see what my next step would be but she easily did. Of course I made it all the way to the top on the intermediate level and maybe a quarter on the hard one. From the top, I had a cool view of the store and watched as people looked up to me. Anyways, as always I tried to relate this to getting rich. This was my attempt:
So many of us see the path to getting rich as a huge mountain to climb. Others who have accomplished this write books and videos to tell us which step to take next. The paths and rules they give us seem pretty easy on paper, but when you get on that rock it's not as easy as it seems. It takes courage and some amount of risk. Robert Kiyosaki says that there isn't such thing as a risky investment just risky investors. I had to think about this a moment because sometimes it's really simply to see an investment that can risky. Then I realized that what he [Robert] was talking about; only the risky investor would take on such risks. If you plan and do your research, you should know what type of investor you are. Which gets paid more? Obviously the riskier ones but then you are doing more gambling than investing. So, are you willing to climb that rock and enjoy the view? It's not easy although many protray it as so, but the benefit of accomplishment might just be worth it. I'm not here to say how easy it is because I myself am not rich. So are you going to climb that mountain with me? Read those books and get your rope ready because Here we Go!

A New Crossroad

Today might have been a “normal” day but I really believe that everyday brings us to a crossroad. Everyday I’m faced with the decision for a solid secure job, or going out there and making it really happen for me. I hear both sides of the playing field as far as all this is something I should pursue after I have secured a guaranteed retirement pension. I say why wait. If I can make this plan (that I will write about soon) work, why wait. The only good reason to wait is debt. One thing my father-in-law has been persistent about is clearing debt. I didn’t really want to hear that I should wait because I wanted to make money right away. But, one thing I have learned is that it doesn’t make any sense if you have debt that will outweigh what you make in your investments. He showed me a great little program called the Debt Cruncher. I will post a link to this program as soon as I get in contact with him. Using this little program, it will show you how the more debt you have, the better it is when it comes down to paying it off. Strange huh! So back to debt; you have to try to squeeze every little dollar you have in your plan to pay off your debt. Honestly, what family and I had to do is actually sit down at the dinner table a lot more often then we were used to. I’m not saying I’m poor, (poor isn’t temporary, broke is) but I had way too many expenses. Every time I talked to the Old Wise Man (father-in-law), about new ways to make money, he talked to me about one simple way to eliminate debt. Damn his persistency! LOL.

I was passed on a book called, “The Richest Man in Babylon” that has one basic idea and that is to pay your self first. In this book it has many old parables that say that you should always put aside 10% of what you make before you even pay bills. Now-a-days it’s considered that you save at least 15% which can prove to be difficult. Most will say, “How can I save if I barely have enough to save this percentage and invest?” I say, cut out those extras that you don’t need. Look for cheaper insurance, cut down on those cell minutes, make that steak at home and drive the “4-banger”. Anyways, you know what I mean. Sit down, plan and cut off the fat. We all have too much extra money leaking out of our wallet. When I created a report on Microsoft Money about my spending, I nearly lost my mind. Dinning out was Killing ME, but I love Golden Corral. My wife and I made adjustments and I are okay now. Plus its income tax time…what are you doing with your check if you even receive one? Today is a crossroad. I kinda went off the subject of where I was going with it but there is always room for another post. Anyways, I wrote about some more books you should to read so you better get them. The learning never ends.

What are your Desires?

I've always been accused of wanting more and more. I've been told I should be grateful for what I have. I've been told I should be happy because I have more than many others do. Most is true but I refuse to settle for what I already have. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful what all I have. My most precious blessing is something I can't buy...Good Health. Speaking on the subject of health, it's true you can't buy good health, but you can buy good health care. I'm not so naive as to think that government health care is the greatest. Trust me, I already know. If you have attained mass amounts of wealth, you will be able to afford good and reliable health care. I will talk about medicare and government benefits at a later time. I learned good facts about then from the new book from Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki's "Why we want you to be Rich". But for now, you can get my point how wealth can provide a better living. Back to my title. What are your desires? Ever see things and picture them as your possessions. I love seeing huge homes and imagining the things me and my family would do there. A huge yard that me and my boys can play in and roam though. I see fancy cars and nice jewelry that I would love to have and say they are mine. I would love to be able to support charities with large amounts of money and have time to give my time away to help. Everyday I think of something I would want and I figured that now I should do something about it. What do you want? Are you okay with you have now? Are you okay with the amount of money you are setting aside for your children or future ones? Are you worried that this pay period is longer than the last? Trust me I've been there and I'm still trying to move out of it. What is your motive behind getting rich? These are just a few of mine, trust me there are many more. You don't have to respond to this posting but take time today and think about your dreams and desires. Together, we can help each other make them a reality.

What Got Me Started

First of all, I remember talking to my father-in-law Tim about money. I had gotten in debt and was looking for a way out. He was already pretty happy with what he was making and introduced me to a book he was reading called "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". He had told me about it, but at first I wasn't very interested. He asked me that if I know how to make money through investing. I said, "Investing, you need to have money to make money and that's something I don't really have". That is when he pulled out this purple looking book and said, "You need to read this". So I began reading it. At first I was skeptical about the whole thing, but as I began to read it I realized I couldn't put it down. It's really that good. It doesn't give you some get-rich-quick scheme, but as he put it, "It puts you in the right mindset" which is true because after I read it my whole outlook has changed. I've talked about this book to mostly everyone I've met. I even bought it for a cousin of mine for his birthday and called him all the time to make sure he was reading it. Trust me, it's that good. The book is easy to read as he explains how his real dad taught him to go to school, get a secure job and let the government and company take care of you for retirement. He then explains how his other dad (friends dad) taught him a different way. This new outlook is what has gotten him rich. If you don't get anything else from today's blog, get this: Buy this Book!

P.S. The colts won the SuperBowl today, but I'm a Cowboys fan.

Where to start?

I think in order to begin something, you must have the end in mind. I'm not to very well at stating my goals, but I do know what my end-state should be like. I would love to write in this blog years from now and tell others how rich I have become and how I have learned to teach them how they can be also. I've always felt as though I'm supposed to be someone great and wealthy in this world and this ambition has caused many sleepless nights in my life. I look at the wealthy and feel as though I should be wealthy also. I grew up with very little but I was always proud of what my parents provided the family with. I have 3 brothers and 3 sisters with parents that didn't even finish high school. They were immigrants from Mexico looking for work and a dream of a better life. I am a product of that dream. I wasn't taught in the way of smart finances. Like in the Rich Dad Poor Dad book, my parents taught that me must go to school and get a good job so we can work and then retire when I'm old enough for Social Security. I always thought that was what we had to do. Investing always seemed like something for the rich. In the books that I have read, it has showed differently. I will talk about the books that I've read later cause there have been a few. I will talk about what I've already done wrong and what I plan on doing right. I'm sure that I will make many mistakes; I hope we can all learn from these too.

Always feel free to leave comments and maybe we can share ideas and help each other grow and be RICH!

Day 1. So much to write and learn about.

Today I have decided to start a blog that I hope will help others as well as wellltrack my progress as I shoot for financial freedom and being rich. I'm not the type of person to write everything down so bear with me as this is new to me. In the coming days, I will write about what I've done so far and what I've learned. Bye for now