But Eric, what if I win 5 Million? Then will I be wealthy? Depends.. What's the definition of wealthy?  The dictionary defines wealthy as:1. Having great wealth, rich, affluent.  2. Characterized by, pertaining to or suggestive of wealth: A wealthy appearance.

But Eric, what's that got to do with me? Surely I'd be able to live on five million a long, long time! Really....you sure about that? Let's look at some folks who've been there, done that and bought the T-shirt...well maybe they bought too many T-shirts!          Evelyn Adams won the New Jersey state lottery not once, but twice, to the tune of 5.4 million dollars! Today the money is gone and Adams lives in a trailer. William Post won 16.2 million dollars in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988. Now Post lives on social security. Post had trouble with relatives, bad investments, and even spent a year in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector. Within a year, Post was 1 million in debt. Now Post lives quietly on $450 a month and food stamps.

 

These lottery winners were rich (briefly) but they were not wealthy. Why not? How did that happen? Are these isolated incidents? Experts say these sad stories are not uncommon. What is the common thread? These folks were all missing something. They all lacked a firm foundation. Many of us think we can solve our problems with more money. But if we lack the skills to manage a little, we lack the skills to manage a lot. So, how do we win with money? The same way we win at other games, devise a great plan and then execute that plan! If the lottery winners had mastered the skill of cash flow planning and spent their money "On paper, on purpose", their stories might have had a much happier ending.

 

If you win a million dollar lottery jackpot, what you've really won is a promise to be paid about $50,000 a year. You may already be getting that now... so in a sense you are a million dollar winner! You just have to spend a certain number of hours in a particular place  each day to continue to receive your "winnings". So, are you rich? Only you can decide that. Can you be wealthy? Absolutely! If you decide to build a firm foundation by learning how to effectively plan your cash flow and execute that plan. Now you're free to live a debt free life, taking control of your biggest asset, your income, and invest it to generate real wealth!    

 

 

 

 

 

Studies prove that you'll spend more if you use plastic because you don't feel the emotional attachment to money when you use plastic. Using cash and budgeting is just one more way to make your money work harder for you helping you get to where you want to go!

 

 

           

 

         Need help dealing with creditors?

 

 

 

 

Sports fans might say "Wow! Tiger Woods is fantastic golfer!" "I'd give anything to be able to hit a golf ball like that!" But would they? Would they really be willing to do what it takes to be a champion? Would they be willing to spend hour after hour in all kinds of weather, hitting golf balls until your body aches, and then hit some more?

Some people might say "I'd give anything to be debt free." But would they? Would they be willing to do what it takes, delaying gratification, giving up some luxuries, putting off some purchases in order to use that money to become debt free? Will they turn off the TV, sit down and put together a cash flow plan that will take them to success or will they once again say "I wanted to, but there was no time."?

 

Financial author and humorist Ben Stien tells a story of a young man he knew that wanted to become a famous writer.

"Today, a Sunday, I had a long phone conversation with a young man who lives in Washington, D.C., my ancestral home. He's 30 years old and a highly talented writer. He aspires to be famous, although right now he's a humble writer for as newsletter about environmental protection legal issues. He calls me many times each day and tells me how eager he is to be famous and much better-paid.

When this man, whom I'll call Chuck, called me on my car phone, I asked him what he'd done with his weekend. "I played tennis," he said. "Then I swam, then I hung out at a bar in Georgetown. That was on Saturday. Today, I played tennis and swam, then watched the football game, and now I'm about to go to a movie."

He asked me what I did with my weekend. "Well, you're 30 and I'm 62," I replied. "So on Saturday I researched some issues about hedge funds. Then I studied the performance of some of my investments. Then, today, I worked very hard on a research paper on basic economic issues of hedge funds, and then I did some investigation into the performance of defunct auto parts companies."

"Wow, he said. "I wish I could have done that."

The Truth Hurts

By then I was out of patience. "Look," I said, "you want to be a writer. No one knows who you are now outside a tiny circle. But you're a good writer. Why don't you write a short freelance article every day? Just on whatever comes into your mind. Then try to get them published. Throw them against the wall. If one in three gets published, in a year you'll be really well-known and in five years you'll be a household name."

"But I don't have that many ideas," he said.

"Well, beginning writers are required to have an unlimited stock of ideas. So either get the ideas or get out of the business."

"I don't want to just write garbage," he said.

"Then don't write garbage."

"I don't want to just have frivolous articles," Chuck added.

I paused a while and broke the news to him. "You're not really cut out for fame and success You're making excuses instead of working. You're hanging out at bars instead of writing."

I continued, "The people who make it in this field work all of the time. They work weekends. They work nights. They work holidays. They're hungry and they work like demons."

"You don't like me," Chuck said. "I don't feel well. I have to go now."