A CD is an FDIC insured place to put your money. You can put the money in a CD for a set period of time, and collect it with the interest (usually pretty high) at the end of the agreed period.

So you want to find the best CD rates out there? Me too. The best I’ve found are:

BankRate.com
MoneyAisle.com
MonitorBankRates.com
Bankaholic.com

There are, of course, dozens of websites that provide similar services. Even mine that I linked to above explains how you can find the best CD rates. Just keep looking, and you’ll be sure to find them — no need to worry about your credit.

Online savings is fantastic for people who have found one of the many real online jobs. In that case, you can make all of your banking completely automatic and electronic.

Related posts:

1. Why You Shouldn’t Sell Those Stocks
2. Three Problems With an Online Savings Account
3. 5 Reasons You Should Get Rich

That bank with its solid oak doors was as solid as a rock. Your deposits cleared into your account the very next business day.

Then one day in 2009, you were on the Internet and you saw something called, “Online Savings Accounts.” All you had to do was have your paycheck directly deposited into a virtual bank and everything would be taken care of. Your account statement appeared instantly on your monitor with a click of your mouse.

Better yet, that online savings account offered you interest that you couldn’t find at your bank down the corner; sometimes the rates were as high as 2.5 % for this online savings account, and you could actually do your banking in your pajamas and slippers. It all seemed so simple and efficient.

But problems began to occur. As you started to put money into your online savings account and take money out, things you never thought of happened. This online account was not as wonderful as it seemed.

For one, there was no customer service when you had a question. If there was a toll free number listed on the website, it was shown way down at the bottom of the page, as if this online bank were trying to hide it from you. That sent you a bad message to begin with.

When you dialed the number there was only an automated menu and maybe a number to hit to get to a real live human being. If a choice was given for person to person service, it was the last choice on the menu and most of the time an automated voice told you there was a fifteen minute wait or the system was overloaded and asked you to call back. When a voice did pick up on the other end, they couldn’t access your account without a pin number that you lost a long time ago.

You had checks to deposit other then payroll checks. There were days when you wondered what happened to the check that you mailed in for deposit into your online savings account. Why was it taking so long to clear? The FAQ’s section on the online bank’s website did mention that checks had to be received in a mail room, processed, deposited into your account and then it took a day if deposited before two in the afternoon for money to be cleared through the Federal Reserve Clearing House. Who was getting the interest on that money while you waited to see if it showed up on your online statement?

Sometimes, you needed to pull money out of your savings account and you were set up with a checking account that also worked online. But once again, the high-yield online savings account reviews took another two to three days to make the transfer from your savings account to your checking account. In the meantime, your mother had advanced you the money until you had access. This was not good every time an emergency arose.

One day your PC pulled the online savings account website up, and the biggest problem of all occurred. The screen told you that the webpage could not be accessed and one of the reasons noted was that the site was having technical difficulties and was down. There was no mention of when it would come back up.It appeared that getting your hands on your money was not so easy at times.

This online bank was sure saving a lot of money by not having a real office with real people. And the extra point or two in interest amounted to very little because you weren’t Donald Trump and your account was not earning interest on a whole lot of money to begin with. Then there was the time the realtor would only take a cashier’s check. How were you supposed to get a cashier’s check delivered into your dining room over the Internet? Bill Gates hadn’t figured that out yet.

Everyday the three big problems seemed to outweigh the advantages. You missed those oak doors and those people with papers and pens, didn’t you?

Well, if not, then check out my article about finding the best online savings account. =p

Related posts:

1. Where to Find the Best CD Rates
2. Personal Finance: Don’t Be So Defensive
3. Personal Development Articles

While you’re waiting for those awarded and guaranteed funds to reach you or your chosen institution of higher learning, there is another temporary source of funding at your reach. Colleges and universities have limited funds available. The short-term loan.

Short term student loans are available to assist when money is tight and you might need a little financial assistance until your other funding resources are available.

The Short Term Student loan is available to any college student who needs assistance to pay for their tuition, books, supplies and or other educational related expenses.

Items that Qualify as Educational Expenses

There are no many restrictions as to what students can use their loan to pay for. Students can determine their immediate needs and use the loan accordingly. Quite frankly almost anything the loan is used to pay may be justified as a college related expense.

For instance, during the cold weather, if getting to school is based on the purchase of a new coat, students may justify purchasing a coat as a college related expense.

Most students use the short term student loan to pay for computers, books, calculators, journals, supplies, magazine subscriptions, clothing, or even some have been known to use the student loan as a down payment on a car.

Some students use the short term student loan to pay for necessary living expenses incurred. Successfully passing college courses takes concentration, time and a lot of studying. Students who have to work to provide for their living expenses generally find themselves not doing as well as they like. Some students seek the short term student loan to assist in room and board.

Some students will delay purchasing anything extravagant until they have completed college. Being that education is paramount to a happy successful life, some students realize the delay in pleasure is well worth the long lasting joy to be experienced later.

Items that will not qualify as Educational Expenses

Quite frankly almost any reasonable purchase while in college can be justified as an educational expense. However, there are some exceptions to this logic.

Purchasing illegal drugs will not qualify as an educational expense. In fact, if discovered the funds have been used for illegal purposes could land you in serious legal trouble for life.

Items such as porno magazines, liquor, beer, cigarettes, etc. are not and will not be accepted under any conditions as educational expenses.

Extravagant clothing purchases cannot be justified as educational expenses. Students have been known to wear one pair of jeans and change their shirts to keep expenses at a minimal while in school.
An iPod would not be considered an educational expense.

If the purchase is reasonable, explaining the need to further your education can be warranted. However, remember, items of a questionable nation should be avoided at all cost if financial aid funds are to be used.

Related posts:

1. Don’t Go Into Debt for College
2. Rethinking College, a Series of Articles
3. 5 Reasons You Should Get Rich

During such an emotional time, it’s easy for us to lose our minds. That’s the worst thing you can do. When it comes to money, your best bet is to rely on your mind through reason and rationality. Using fear in this situation will do nothing but force you along a path of seeing your fears realized — losing your shirt.

And most importantly, don’t dump the money out of your investments because they took a dip. Don’t even do it if you think we’re about to see a 5-10 year “depression” — read below for the reasons.

Look Who’s Buying

Warren Buffet just came out and bought a 5 billion dollar stake in the financial firm Goldman Sachs. That’s five billion dollars he spent buying into the system that other are scrambling to leave.

His investing philosophy is nothing but the most basic, common sense: buy low. Buy a deal. When you see a deal, buy it. If it doesn’t surge in within 12 months, it will within 24. Just make sure you’re buying into a good company that will weather the storm, and you’re good to go.

Unfortunately, most people are completely ignoring what the money mogul is doing, and are just acting on the hype of the media. Whatever you do, remember: the media’s income SOARS during financial rough times. They eat crisis for breakfast. They love it when we become frightened and are glued to the TV sets. There’s a reason they’re encouraging pandemonium.

But to the point: if Buffet is doing it, that’s at least a little evidence that there’s some justification for it rooted in long-forgotten common sense. Of course, you shouldn’t blindly follow Buffet, as brilliant as he might be. The actual justification is found below.

Selling Now Messes Everything Up

If you sell now, you’re guaranteeing that you lose money. That’s a promise. If Wall Street recovers, you’ll know how to make money online. Actually, no you won’t. But pulling out now means you can’t make money with the crisis — it makes your losses concrete and unavoidable. This means you are giving yourself a 100% guarantee that you’ve lost during the crisis. That’s not a guarantee anyone can afford.

And your actions won’t just impact you. No, there’s even more of an impact: the economy gets weaker.

The market gets weaker the more people focus on selling as opposed to buying. Demand drops. Prices drop even more. Value plummets. It’s the old bank-scare — fear literally carves it’s deathly way through the finances of an entire institution, or, in this situation, the nation.

On the other hand, the cheap stocks can help you — but not if you are the one making them cheap. Read below for the why factor.

Don’t Let Current Value Matter

Remember, current value of your stocks don’t matter unless you’re a day trader. Do you buy and sell every day? Are you focusing purely on the short-game? If you’re looking for money in the long-haul, then bailing yourself out now is the worst thing you can possibly do.

Remember, the value of your stocks ONLY impacts your lifestyle when you sell them or when you receive money from them. That’s it. Period. For example:

John buys $10,000 in stocks in Potatoes Inc on a Monday. On Tuesday, the stock market takes a 30% dip. John looks concerned. Five years later, though, the economy is fine, and John finally cashes his stocks in. He had to wait 5 years. But, he didn’t lose his $3,000 that he would have if he’d jumped ship.

Also, he had no negative impacts at all. It was like nothing happened in terms of his lifestyle. Why? Because the value of those stocks didn’t matter when they were low, because he agreed to not sell out of fear. They didn’t matter because he decided to wait — even if it would be a few years. John refused to allow fear to cheat him out of his retirement.

Values WILL Come Back

Wall Street will recover. It might take a year, it might take two — it might even take a decade. If Civilization doesn’t collapse back into Stone Age 2, then Wall Street WILL come back. This means that, if you diversified, you should be just fine. You just have to wait. Patience is a virtue.

During the Great Depression, some people got rich. Read that again — the history books never mention this. Some saw that stock values collapsed, so they took their money from elsewhere, picked companies that would come back after the depression, and put their money in them. They became filthy rich. And you can do the exact same thing.

Want to see a real-life example? We’ve already talked about it — Warren Buffet is going to make billions upon billions because people are scared stiff. Buffet is going back to the basic, basic principle that we’ve heard over, and over and over:

Buy Low.
Sell High.

Settling for anything less will destroy your finances, weaken the economy and help nothing. Don’t abandon your mind during financial hard times. Instead, focus on expanding.

So buy Stocks. They’re cheap. Don’t let fear control your finances.

Related posts:

1. Most Don’t Need a College Degree
2. Save Money or Make Money?
3. Where to Find the Best CD Rates

Not everyone felt that way, of course. Whenever a topic was brought up about some social ill — terrorism, war, crime or foolish laws — the girl on the left of me would always exclaim, “I just don’t get people! Why do people act that way! Ugh — people make no sense!”

Looking back, she was dead right.

Personal Development 101: Using Reason

This article is a bit controversial but is simply essential to any real amount of personal development.

We must use reason to consistently make right choices. The most important fundamental principle of smart personal development is the foundation of reason. If we abandon our minds, our choices become random and arbitrary. The consequences to our life, then, become almost like a game of chance without reason.

With reason, we are able to more adequately understand the Universe, what’s really happening around us, and how to maximize every situation to avoid unnecessary conflicts, harming others, and achieving our own values.

This is simply an introductory post on the topic of thinking reasonably, and will focus on the general collective evidence in support of a reasonable way of thinking. In future articles I’ll explain more connections in terms of emotional, relationship and financial success. But for now, let’s take a walk through history.

What is Reason?

“Reason” simply means honest, conscious and coherent analysis. Logic is only one part of reason. For example, a decision is reasonable if it is a logical conclusion founded on:

• Knowledge. All available information must be used. If one knows that milkshakes have over 1100 calories, it would be unreasonable to drink two every day while trying to lose weight. Utilizing known facts is essential to reasonable thinking. Using reason is, in its crudest form, simply piecing together information to concoct a coherent theory.

• Honesty. Denial on any level is the enemy of reasonable thinking. If one tries to “pick and choose” which facts to acknowledge, then there’s no point in reasoning — reasoning stops being a path towards objective truth and becomes a tool towards whimsical bias. Reality exists in a concrete state whether we like it or not; we might as well make the best of it.

• Integrity. Reason doesn’t fluctuate because of political correctness. If something makes sense, then it makes sense regardless of its popularity. Reasonable thinkers “stick to their guns” when they know their position makes sense and is true — otherwise, the point of reason is completely lost.

• Independence. Reason can’t be carried out by another person, but is an internal analysis. Trusting someone else can make sense at times when they have more available information (doctors, lawyers, etc), but not for everyday living or for achieving one’s personal goals. It’s not reasonable to blindly trust another’s judgment, given the necessary elements of integrity and knowledge. Plus, how does one determine who to listen to?

• Coherency. The basic function of reason is the organization of information so that you can understand what the truth is. The reason we call this “coherency” is because of the primary test to see if your thoughts are correct: are there contradictions? A single contradiction, no matter how small, proves that the argument is flawed and needs to be fixed, because the laws that govern the Universe don’t contradict.

Reason is the crux of personal development, healthy individuals, a healthy society and success on any significant level. The abandonment of “common sense” is the leading cause of nearly all social and personal problems. In direct contrast, a life founded on reason leads to a coherent lifestyle, emotional stability, trust, healthy relationships, happiness and creation.

Intellectual “Humility”

Reason is primarily concerned with understanding reality, and supposes that reality exists outside of our minds. There are two basic positions when it comes to how we view reality:

• Reality is Concrete. If you jump from a plane you’d better have a parachute, regardless of how you “feel” or believe about the ground below. Reality won’t stop functioning the way it does because of your mind. Reality exists, regardless if you do; if you die, reality will continue. For an example of a rationalist, look to the scientists of society.

• Reality is Relative. You can change reality if you have a positive outlook (Positive Thinking), or if you wish something is true something really hard and often (the Law of Attraction). For extreme examples of people who place beliefs over reality, think of the parents who refuse to allow their children to see doctors even when they are terminally ill. Our beliefs have consequences, and sometimes those consequences are extreme.

Reasonable living supposes that we are not gods, and that reality won’t fluctuate depending on our moods, our religions, or our beliefs. Reason argues we should change our beliefs and feelings in line with reality, because reality certainly won’t change for us.

This isn’t to say that our outlook isn’t important. Stay tuned for new articles coming soon about a rational approach to the Law of Attraction and Positive Thinking. Both can certainly be helpful for achieving one’s goals — if understood correctly.

The Role of Emotion

Unfortunately, one of the most common myths of reason is that somehow one must never feel emotion if one is to be reasonable or logical. This is simply not true. Reason is how we know something is true — it doesn’t mean that we don’t feel anything. It’s very possible to rationally analyze a situation and to feel extremely passionate as well. We can certainly feel emotion while reasoning; we must accept that emotion should not be the means to the conclusion, but a consequence of the conclusion.

Along those lines, some of the most emotionally powerful instances of my life were those that were founded upon reasoning. Several years ago, when I was still piecing together my thoughts on personal development, I reached a powerful milestone; I was finally comfortable with doing something out of self-interest. Before this one moment, I would feel guilty whenever I enjoyed any activity.

Once I made the emotionally agonizing decision that making an action out of self-interest was justified, I decided to do something extremely small to prove to myself that I truly believed it. I decided to spend an entire evening simply enjoying myself with trivial amusements. I bought an iced coffee, a pizza and watched a “fun” movie alone. Though for most this would have been a silly way to live “selfishly,” it was an incredibly huge step for me in my journey of development.

It was one of the most emotionally powerful experiences I have had. It wasn’t powerful because I was living irrationally; it was powerful because I had decided to consciously and rationally alter my value code and live up to it. Emotion and reason, both in their proper place, are a powerful combo for a life well lived.

Case Study: Scientific Advances

The most important advances of the last century are the scientific achievements. The life expectancy has sky-rocketed in Western society, and great leaps are being made to find the cure for aids and the cure for cancer. It’s only a question of time before we unlock the weaknesses of both of those diseases, maintaining an even higher life expectancy.

Even beyond the basic need of survival, science has vastly increased the comfort level with widespread entertainment through Television, movies, radio, music and the Internet. Science is completely founded upon reason.

If not for knowledge, medicines could never be invented or cured. If not for honesty, we’d still think the earth is flat. If not for integrity, pain killers wouldn’t exist (pain killers were thought to be evil by many fundamentalists at the time of their invention). If not for independence, we’d see the complete collapse of all scientific endeavors.

Instead, through an appeal to rationality and comprehensive analysis, we see success. There’s a reason for it: emotions don’t help us determine what is true. Science gets results because science understands the system of reality. Science and reason are essentially of the same concept — coherently and honestly organizing information.

Oddly enough, millions see science as essential to the advancement of civilization, but see personal reason in a completely different light. It’s absurd to suppose that the same source of the advancements of civilization can’t also be a source for personal advancement.

If you want to lose weight, you look primarily for a scientific method for doing so. Scientific methods simply include acknowledging how the body operates. For example, focusing on intaking less calories through dieting, or on burning more calories through exercise; both are scientific means to losing weight, and are almost certain ways to do so.

A Society that Rejects Reason

The Age of Enlightenment is one of the most crucial turning points in the history of mankind. Throughout the 1700s, a philosophical revolution took place in the minds of millions. Dumping a blind faith in organized religion (such as the Roman Catholic church), the people turned towards reason and critical analysis.

It was upon this philosophical foundation that Western civilization came to see great advances in science, business and economy. Life is good when people think. The industrial revolution, consumer choice and an outrageously increased standard of living were the direct consequences of the philosophy based on rationality.

Since that time society has abandoned the concept that rational beliefs are the only beliefs worth having, and has moved into a more “Postmodern” society, where reality is now seen as flexible, truth as non-absolute and rationality as “cold” and unnecessarily crude. And there are consequences.

We are told “love isn’t rational”; divorce rates escalate.

We are told “morality is flexible”; kids kill kids.

We are told “happiness is an emotion”; depression stats explode.

We are told to trust our emotions first, as though we are internally created with an obvious sense of right and wrong — even though society has nearly an infinite ideas as far as what this even means, with dozens of religions, hundreds of sects and millions of people caught up in the intellectual-emotional war. Each of the thousands of “sides” simply tries to scream the loudest, claiming to appeal to basic emotions.

We’re seeing the consequences of abandoning reason. One of the “givens” of society is that “not everything makes sense,” giving an excuse for purely emotional decision making. Without a concrete reason (hence the term “reasoning”) for our actions or beliefs, we become whimsical sheep. Instead of following or concocting beliefs out of thin air, regardless of how “cold” it feels, we must come to terms with a need for rationality and reasoning.

What Next?

As I said before, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding rationality. I’ll be writing more and more instructions for living reasonably; if you haven’t subscribed, make sure you do — you won’t want to miss the free guides.

Also, stay tuned for the next article in the Personal Development 101 series: understanding the need for a purpose in life — an ultimate goal that will take pain, work and years to achieve.

Related posts:

1. How to Kill Low Self-Esteem
2. The Creator Personality
3. 5 Reasons You Should Get Rich

Now I’m giving it to you! Feel free to take it, modify it, change it, reform it or destroy it. I’d appreciate it if you’d leave the links in the footer so I get some love for the work. Thanks!

The download is here.

The demo is here.

Any suggestions? Thoughts? Critiques?

Related posts:

1. Announcing a Free Financial Planning Resource

But we aren’t talking about money in and of itself. Is it okay for you to amass wealth? Is it moral to own a BMW? To have a bank account with enough funds to allow three other people to retire? Shouldn’t you give your money away when you spend it? Aren’t you an evil, unfulfilled person when you do well?

You aren’t evil if you are financially well off. It’s perfectly moral to be rich. In fact, it’s part of the American Dream. If you believe serving others is the foundation of morality, it’s still moral; wealth almost automatically ends up helping others. That’s just how the economy works.

Below are five reasons I support the idea of building wealth here at Personal Development.

1. You’ve Earned It

As we discuss in Why Some People Always Succeed, success comes to those who focus on creation. Always making things better, trying new ideas, focusing on productivity; the creator nearly always succeeds in the long run.

On a similar note, the opposite individual will not succeed. Short of winning the lottery, lazy, uncreative people never become wealth. They never build a passive system of income (something I’ll be writing about in the future). People who don’t create won’t win.

This means one fact: if you’ve built your wealth, you deserve it. With a few exceptions (an inheritance, the lottery), those who have built wealth did so by helping society as a whole, strengthening the economy, creating jobs and helping others.

Reality rewards creators. There’s a reason high-paying jobs are high paying. CEOs, investors, webmasters, managers, business owners, authors – all of these individuals build wealth through creation.

If you end up rich, chances are you’ve earned it and then some.

2. Don’t Worry, Be Happy

One of the most puzzling myths in our culture is as ironic as it is puzzling. Western society is the richest society in the history of the world, yet it’s uncommon at all for individuals who live in the relative luxury to make claims such as, “Money doesn’t buy happiness.” Of course, they are absolutely right. Money is a tool, and can’t guarantee happiness. There are many rich people who are unhappy. There are also many poor who are unhappy as well.

This doesn’t mean, however, that money can’t increase your happiness. Money isn’t everything, but of course it helps.

SmartMoney Magazine actually wrote a bit about this in one of their recent articles:

“It may not be comforting to folks who aren’t minting cash, but the rich really are different.”There’s no group in America that’s happier than the wealthy,” says Taylor, of the Harrison Group. Roughly 70 percent of millionaires say that money “created” more happiness for them, he notes.”

Interesting word choice, isn’t it? Money “created” happiness for people who created money. Creation is one of the fundamental “purposes” of all persons. I’ll be talking about this in the future, so make sure to subscribe at the end of this article.

In the end, it should be fairly obvious why creating significant wealth can lead to at least an increase in happiness. You don’t have to worry about credit card debt, making the mortgage payments, saving enough to stay in style. Money makes life easier.

3. Being Rich Doesn’t Harm Others

There seems to be a rather baffling view when it comes to money. Perhaps we should blame it on the educational system; the view could be extinguished with a healthy dose of basic high-school level economics. The view is this: If someone is rich, that means someone else has to be extra poor. This simply doesn’t reflect the way the economy works.

An “economy” is basically money flow. It’s a question of how money moves from one person to the next. Just being “rich” doesn’t mean that the poor have less money, or that someone else will be struggling. There are several reasons for this, including more than even those listed below. The few listed below are just the tip of the economic ice-burg for why every economy simply benefits from the wealthy.

No Cap. Put simply, there’s no reason to think that because someone has two dollars that someone else is two dollars short. The reasoning is simple: the impact of every dollar is much, much bigger than the “static” amount of money that exists.

For example, I have a couple of hundred in my wallet. By the end of week, I’ll have spent it and someone else will have it. Next week, another person will have the hundred. After that, another person will have the money, and so on and so forth. This means that the “real” impact of every dollar is much, much greater than whatever is sitting in my wallet.

If I have ten bucks or a thousand bucks, in a few weeks someone else will have it regardless. This is money-flow. Rich people aren’t financial black holes, sucking money from the economy. If anything, the rich are often the creators that we talked about in Why Some People Always Succeed.

New Business. If everyone is barely scraping by, paycheck to paycheck, new businesses won’t be created; there wouldn’t be enough money saved up to handle the necessary costs. “Risky” ideas that only venture capitalists would support will never happen, period. Eventually, the economy will collapse without growth.

This means the exact opposite happens with the wealthy, supposing a free enterprising system like the one in the United States and a lot of Europe; the wealthy can launch businesses much quicker. The same goes for you. The more you have the more you can create. The more you create the more the economy benefits.

Jobs, business, choice; these are the end result of creators doing what they do best: create, build,
produce and achieve.

In short, if you are wealthy, it’s not because you are evil and want to suck money away from everyone else while laughing evilly on the way to the bank. Creators always end up creation creations which in turn cause more creation.

4. Got Money? Give More

In an odd paradox, the “super poor” often get more money due to some people having a boat-load of money. The lower and middle classes are usually focusing on making ends meet, as we talked about in “Save Money or Make Money.”

One of the consequences of working just to stay afloat is that there is rarely enough to pass on through charity. Almost all of the inheritance will go to making sure the kids and family have a little to make it on. Almost all of the week’s earnings go to food, transportation (I spent $4.08 on gas, today), housing and other basic expenses.

Now take a look back at someone like Warren Buffet. When he dies almost the whole 50+ billion are going to charity. The same goes for Bill Gates and a slew of others. There’s a reason hospitals name wings of new buildings after successful individuals, there’s a reason we see scholarships named in the honor of a rich person: being rich means you can help in a big way.

This isn’t to suggest that I’m trying to paint wealth as something purely selfless. Of course it’s selfish to make money. And that’s a good thing. Just read below.

5. Everyone is “Selfish”

This is the part where we’ll focus on the personal development side of the entire idea. Nearly everyone in popular culture claims to support “selflessness” while condemning anything done for “profit” or “selfishness.” The idea that “selfishness” = “evil” is so entrenched in our culture and society that challenging is considered absurd.

A few months ago I watched a video on YouTube where a young philosopher was attempting to explain why selfishness can certainly be justified. A video response to the philosopher showed someone passionately against what was being argued. The entire response looked something like this: “You can’t just be selfish! I mean, it’s just that it…just, well, it just sounds so selfish.” There wasn’t a reason given.

The truth is, everyone is “selfish” to a certain degree. I’ll be writing a more detailed article explaining this in the future, but for now, let’s just take a step back and look at, well, everyone.

TV is not necessary; neither are computers, snacks, desserts, “fun books”, most magazines or nearly every hobby in existence. Is it wrong to utilize these things, or take these actions? It would be hard-pressed to find anyone who would suggest so. Even still, these things are certainly selfish.

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying oneself. We’ll be going into more detail about this in future articles so make sure to subscribe. I’d love to see your thoughts, so stay tuned.

Being rich doesn’t require that anyone is harmed. Wealth is built through helping others. Creators deserve to be wealthy; creators have earned their wealth. Having wealth means you are more able to help others.

Bottom line: whether you want to help others or help yourself, being wealthy gives you more potential for doing accomplishing your goals.

Related posts:

1. Save Money or Make Money?
2. Personal Finance: Don’t Be So Defensive
3. The Creator Personality

True. Everyone should live below their means, in a way. But the expression is wrong headed because it implies focusing on “living below” rather than “earning more.”

This article will argue that rather than focusing on spending less than we earn we should focus on earning more than we spend. — for example, we should try to make money online. Semantics aside, this attitudinal difference is vital for long term material success.

The Perspective of a Miser

The perspective of the miser is someone who has determined that they’ll make ends meet by making it easier to meet them. Skimping out, drinking water, smaller meals, slower internet, hunting for cheaper gas; these are “defensive personal finance” measures.

Of course, these measures do work. That’s a given. You are most certainly going to have an easier time when it comes to paying the bills if the bills are smaller — this is especially true if you make money online.

“Making ends meet” is the art of making sure your financial income is the same or better than your outgo. As long as your needs and your earnings are at least matched up, you’re good to go.

Sort of.

If you focus exclusively on “making ends meet” you’ll be working harder in the long run. The reasoning is simple: your needs are relatively static. You need food, housing and transportation. Your income is typically also fairly static: you get a paycheck.

Focusing on “saving” your way to real success within a long period of time is possible with almost any income. It just costs more in terms of lifestyle. For the lower-class, investing means smaller meals or some other inconvenience.

Is there a better way to focus? Absolutely. But first, let’s do a background look at a specific kind of individual: the creator.

The Perspective of a Creator

There are dozens if not hundreds of “personality type” quizzes that can be found online. I admit, I’m often a sucker for them. But the profound difference between people isn’t usually listed in the test results because not any one personality typically succeeds. You can do well as an extrovert, an introvert, someone who focuses on sensing or someone who focuses on intuition. Almost any personality can succeed by focusing on its strengths.

But there is one way to almost guarantee success, and that is to adapt the personality of a creator.

A creator is someone who simply can’t function with the “same-old, same-old” and demands creating solutions and increasing efficiency at everything.

A creator is someone who feels like every action they take must bring about both short-term and long-term results.

A creator is someone who feels like wasting time and effort is a great crime, and seeks to maximize his or her time on earth.

For a more comprehensive analysis of the creator personality, read Why Some People Always Succeed. I detail exactly what I mean by a “creator.” The article is a must-read for anyone who’s tired of not reaping the benefits of financial success.

Choose Now: More Pain or More Money?

What I’m about to say does not mean you shouldn’t try to cut expenses for the sake of your budget. This is a necessity for most people. If you’re at a place where you need to drink water when you eat out, that’s perfectly fine and you should certainly do so.

The following is simply the proposal of a different perspective.

Warren Buffet didn’t become Warren Buffet because he only drank water at McDonald’s. (Though, to be fair, Buffet does routinely shop at Sam’s Club, a discount warehouse. Not the usual for a guy worth 50+ billion dollars.)

Steve Jobs didn’t become Steve Jobs because his car had above-average fuel efficiency.

No, the successful don’t get that way by skipping meals, or eating cheaper. That’s a way to make ends meet. It’s important for many (or most) people. But it’s not a good long-term game plan. It’s the best way to live in regards to the next round of bills.

The key to financial success isn’t about scrimping and cutting costs. That’s how you stop yourself from going bankrupt. Not going bankrupt is a lot different than being successful.

How to Make Money

There are always principles to how any function operates. Just ask a mathematician. These principles work in business, personal development, personal finance, basketball, style; you name it, there are principles. Here are some of the essential principles of building wealth:

• Become a Creator. Creators create where ever they go. They walk into a room and have to make one thing better before they leave. They spend all day focusing on productivity. They don’t get hung up on email, or funny vids on YouTube. They can’t help but rise to the top.

• Dump the Shackles. Society is filled with weird beliefs and presumptions that are simply foolhardy. I’ll be writing more about the following specifically, so make sure to subscribe. Each of these shackles, if believed, can destroy your financial future, period. Thee following “shackles” are completely wrong:
  1. You aren’t self employed.
  2. Not everyone can be rich.
  3. Wealth “just happens” to some people.
  4. You can’t “get rich quick”, and anyone who says so is a scammer.
  5. You can’t do well without a college degree.
  6. You shouldn’t focus on money.

• Build a Network. Remember, an economy is a social structure. Making money requires other people. If people like you, they’re more likely to give you breaks, do business or help you out. Besides, networking can’t hurt you.

• Passive. Income. A passive income is an income that’s going to come in even if you decide to take a 6-month break. Investments, owning a “hands-free” business, a website; all of these are fantastic ways of building your income. The great thing about a passive income is that it always grows. You can only move up.

Thinking beyond the culture norms, networking, focusing on a long-term income model, constantly looking for creative ways to be productive are all vital elements of building wealth. Master one, and your income will increase over the long run. Master them all and nothing can stop you.

Don’t focus on being a miser. Focus on being a creator. Don’t focus on scrimping your way to the top. Just build your way there.

Related posts:

1. 5 Reasons You Should Get Rich
2. Personal Finance: Don’t Be So Defensive
3. The Creator Personality

The creator is someone who always adds value. Always. The creator is constantly putting something valuable together, whether it’s a product, a job or a plan.

Creators can’t help but succeed because our economy rewards value; if one makes something valuable then people will want it. When people want it, they’ll pay. Value and profit go hand-in-hand.

Building wealth requires having the mindset of a creator.

This isn’t just about starting a business. This article will focus on how to be a creator in the “everyday” workplace. No product-line required.

Value Creates Profit

Our economic system rewards value. A product will not exist if no one purchases it and no one will purchase a product if they don’t believe it has value.

The iPod, best-seller books, designer clothes and other products only exist because people will purchase them. Make a cruddy product that simply doesn’t work to any extent and you won’t do as well as you would if you offered value.

Coca-Cola got where it’s at today because of a consistent taste and because of incredibly creative marketing towards the start of the mega-company’s existence. Value created profit.

The Internet was a mess before Google decided that a search-engine based on rewarding “popular” content would be valuable. Value created profit. A lot of profit.

When it comes to business, there’s an entire branch dedicated toward convincing people that the product is valuable. Marketing is founded on this premise: you should spend money (give us profit) because we’ll give you value. And it works.

People like value. People flock to value. People pay for value.

This isn’t just for business owners. The principle is much, much more basic than that. Understanding and emphasizing value is the crux of all achievement by anyone, not just for a business operator.

Creators Eventually Succeed

A creator who works as a webmaster who has a website is constantly adding valuable content to his website. This in turn will cause other webmasters to link to his website, which generates traffic, which causes more links — you see the point. Considering traffic means money, that’s success.

A creator who works as a grocery stocker is constantly analyzing how the organization of the store-rooms is done, looking for ways to add value to the system. The stocker will be promoted because people who promote value help the company. The higher he goes, the more profit the company makes.

A creator who works in an office discovers more efficient ways to use the technology and actually “get things done”…within reason.* With such efficiency more opportunities and resume’ builders will come along. Remember, the more you get accomplished while at work, the more responsibility you can take on. This is long-term prep for a job transfer.

Creators can’t help but succeed. If they’re workers, they’ll become managers. If they’re managers, they’ll become owners. If they’re associates, they’ll become partners.

Become a Creator

Want to do well? Become a creator. Becoming a creator is outlandishly difficult; it requires completely throwing off the typical “worker mentality” and replacing it with the philosophy of achievement. Read below for tips on how you can start looking at the world through the eyes of a creator.

Don’t Watch the Clock. Have you ever been to a store that closed a few minutes early, because the manager stepped out and the employees wanted to quit a bit early? The employees might think they are acting selfishly and are getting what they want. They aren’t.

The “clock-watcher” mentality is the anti-thesis of the creator. The creator goes to work for the ability to add value as habit, not to work just long enough to run out the door the moment the clock strikes five.

Keep Your Eyes Open. There are always dozens of ways that we end up wasting time and doing thing inefficiently. The key to creating a more productive workplace in order to free up time and get noticed by superiors is to constantly look for those flaws. You know they’re there; what are they?

Do Something Weird. Weird things can save time and create “something from nothing.” I once found out a friend wanted a website designed, so I volunteered to do it for $250, about half of what she was prepared to pay. She was delighted, of course, and I promised to have it done within 24 hours.

One small glitch: I don’t know how to design websites. So I Googled “outsource web design” and found an incredibly professional firm that agreed to do it for $75. Within 24 hours I made $175 because of 3 emails. In a few days I’ll be talking about outsourcing, so make sure to subscribe so you can read it; outsourcing can literally change your life.

Be the Best. Nearly every work-force has different levels of workers. The better and more knowledgeable the worker, the more likely that worker will be seen as the leader. Be the best, get the best.

Give Up Lunch Hour. If you spend an hour every single day brainstorming how you can find away to build a passive income source (I’ll be writing more about this as time goes on) you’ll find one eventually. If you spend an hour every single day in conversation with your significant other, you’ll build an incredibly stronger relationship.

Want to learn the guitar? An hour a day is more than enough time. Want to build a high-traffic website? Five hours per week is more than enough time as long as you don’t hurry. (I’ll be writing more about building a high-traffic website business later on!)

An hour every day is a lot of time. Over a year, it’s hundreds of hours. Over a lifetime, it’s literally months of potentially pure productive action. Don’t waste your lunch hour just mindlessly munching; find a way to turn that hour into something productive. The results will be nearly instantaneous.

You can eat and achieve at the same time.

The Results of Productivity

My father is one of the greatest success inspirations I ever hope to have. He’s been the master of getting “little things” constantly done so he has time for the “big things.” He married my mother when he was 19 and broke. They worked on discovering productive ways to get things done ever since.

I didn’t come up with the above ideas; my father lived them. He moved from the DJ of a small AM radio station to the manager of all of the radio stations in the area in just a few years. He now owns his own radio incorporation known by nearly everyone as being the most professional “get it done” business in the state.

There are literally millions of individuals who have done the same. I have yet to meet a self-made millionaire who didn’t succeed in the same manner. Learn to be a creator and create your own success.

Related posts:

1. Save Money or Make Money?
2. 5 Reasons You Should Get Rich
3. Rethinking College, a Series of Articles

Reading fairly common threads of thought can be helpful to see where most people are “coming from.” Many of the sites are dead on; most personal finance sites emphasize the saving of money, smart investing, financial analysis and all around great personal finance advice.

But most personal finance websites are wrong. Don’t get me wrong, the basic principles certainly work to a certain extent. But only to an extent. The view ends up causing those who follow it to settle for much, much less than they can achieve. To understand the following concept just make sure to read the entire article.

Defensive Personal Finance

Personal finance websites encourage investing and saving, and they certainly should. The reason we want to save/invest is the bottom line; we end up with more money to spend on larger material possessions, retirement and other things. This is the ultimate reason for having a job, saving money, investing, etc. The purpose of personal finance is material.

The typical advice for personal finance looks something like this:

Want to build wealth? There’s one sure-fire way to do it, and it will take from now till your 70s. Be frugal and save, save, save. Focus on ways you can save money. Find ways that you are wasting money. Save! If you have to, skip lattes, drink water, downsize your house — just save your money and invest it. The key of success is to be frugal, thrifty and to save, save, save. Save a few thousand per year more than you spend and you’ll have a nice egg in 20-30 years.

This is all fine and dandy if your goal is to live well only in the future. This method emphasizes saving more than you make. It emphasizes holding back, cutting expenses, downsizing your lifestyle and saving. And it’s this mindset that destroys the potential to achieve.

Don’t get me wrong: there’s nothing wrong with saving. Everyone should most certainly save a portion of their income. I save constantly, keep a budget and never violate it. If I continue at this rate, I’ll have a dandy retirement in a few years.

But let’s look at how this emphasizes the lifestyle. In order to understand it, let’s analyze the life of Frugal Danny.

The Story of Frugal Danny

Frugal Danny is a frugal man, and focuses on saving his money. His personal finance philosophy is, “it’s better to do without than to spend.” He makes sure that everything he does is the cheapest possible. He only drinks water when he goes out to eat, never gets steak, doesn’t listen to much new music, doesn’t go to the theater and he lives in a small apartment.

Danny has an okay job as a technician and makes $15-per-hour and $30,000-per-year. His wife a three kids require a lot of time and money, so his job just barely makes ends meet. Danny doesn’t have the luxury of having luxuries. Every year his family invests $2,000 from all of the scrimping, saving and cutting costs. He and his wife talk about money for at least a half-hour every night.

When retirement rolls along and he’s 65, Danny is going to have 1.5 million. He is going to get about $75,000 to live off every year. He;s excited! When retirement comes, he’s worked hard to get it, and he is planning on spending time working on the garden, walking the dog and watching game-shows.

Unfortunately, Danny will never make it to retirement. He’ll be in a fatal car accident a month before he reaches his goal. His long-term plan won’t be working out for him; the dead need no money.

It might sound odd in story form, but we can learn a lesson from Danny. His lifestyle focused on scrimping and saving, hoping for a distant time in “the future” where he could enjoy the fruits of his labors. That time never came for him.

This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t save, invest or be relatively frugal. But it does show us the flaw of Defensive Personal Finances. So what should he have done? What can you do? Read below.

Offensive Personal Finance

There are two approaches to personal finance. You can focus on saving more than you spend or you can focus on making more than you spend. The difference is vital to understanding how to manage your money.

Defensive personality focuses on saving money. The emphasis is on holding back, and living in a poverty mindset. The emphasis is on not spending too much. Offensive person finance is different in the approach: rather than looking for ways to scrimp, offensive personal finance looks for ways to earn.

Offensive personal finance does take into account saving and investing, but that’s not where the emphasis lies. The emphasis is in making money. Remember the old quote: the poor work for their money; the rich make their money work for them. That could be modified to: the poor save their way to wealth; the rich build it.

Focusing on saving money is certainly a way to build wealth for the long term, but that’s just it; it’s a long term goal. The best approach to personal finance will have both short and long term impacts on your budget. Want to be successful? Don’t focus on skipping lattes; focus on building another stream of income. Find another way to make money. This doesn’t mean, of course, that you ever skip the life insurance basics (my friend’s website where you can learn the fundamentals — something I don’t have time for here), or you never focus on finding the best savings account or best money market rates — just focus on the short-term as well as the long term scenarios.

By actually making money you are focusing on the now as well as the future, without sacrificing either. Unfortunately, defensive personal finance seems to be reflecting the immortal words of Emerson: “We are always getting ready to live but never living.”

But of course, this all simply begs a question. How on earth are we to discover new ways to make money? Well, SmartMoney reports that building a business of some sort is the best way to generate wealth:

So how do you join the millionaires’ club? You could buy stocks or real estate, play the slots in Vegas — or take the most common path: running your own business. That’s how half of all millionaires made their money, according to the AmEx/Harrison survey. About a third had a professional practice or worked in the corporate world; only 3 percent inherited their wealth.

Building a business is just one way of thinking offensively. Have an obsession? Start a website about it, enjoy yourself and make money. Know a lot about math? Consider tutoring. Turn your skills and assets into another income source, build a business; just think offensively.

This doesn’t mean you should stop turning the lights off when you leave a room. It’s simply a question of perspective; sometimes one’s attitude is just as important as one’s circumstances.

Last Words

We’ll be discussing later why this simple perspective change is vital, and why positive/negative/realistic thinking is incredibly essential to success. Don’t worry, no “new age”, just realistic analysis of the successful and looking for attitudes that win. One last thing; I find the following quote by personal development coach Jim Rohn to be incredibly dead-on:

“Money is usually attracted, not pursued.”

I’ll be writing quite a bit about having an attitude that guarantees success; one that nearly every successful individual reveals. We’ll be talking about how anyone can get what they want in life, it just requires knowing what you want and knowing how to get there. Enter your email below and I’ll let you know when the guides are published.

Related posts:

1. 5 Reasons You Should Get Rich
2. Save Money or Make Money?
3. Rethinking College, a Series of Articles