Holiday Debt Or Lifetime Surplus?
The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally the biggest shopping
day of the year. However, holiday spending is still in full
force.
Throughout ABCIncome.com a simple but powerful theme is
continually stressed, avoid debt if possible, avoid spending
money (especially that you don't have) on things that don't make
you money, and try to instead make wise decisions and
expenditures that will add to and improve your financial health
and overall well being.
And, no, the above statement doesn't mean that I'm saying that
you shouldn't buy toys or all of the other wonderful gifts and
gadgets that we all love to eye, buy, and receive around this
time of year. If you can afford it, especially without going
into debt (i.e., carrying a balance on your credit cards), go
ahead! After all, while it's true that few of the gift items in
this category are likely to improve your financial picture, they
do bring joy and happiness, and, what would life be without a
little of both :)
Unfortunately, though, statistics show that year after year
Americans continue to pile up debt, especially credit card debt,
in the process of making holiday expenditures.
There is an old and well known saying, "Give a man a fish; you
have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed
him for a lifetime."
Likewise, one could also say, "Spend your money to give someone
a gift and he or she has a gift for today. Teach someone to earn
and manage money, and he or she can have money and gifts for a
lifetime."
One of the oldest forms of the above kind of giving is when
someone gives stocks or savings bonds. However, did you know
that some of the most powerful gifts that you could ever give
(including to yourself) also happen to be among the least
expensive?
What am I talking about? Some of the best advice ever given
about how to earn and manage money is available in the form of
small, easy to read, books and other resources, many of which
cost less than $10.00. Some are even free.
Wealthy people pass along sage advice amongst each other, and
especially family, all the time. Just one of the reasons the
very old saying that the, "rich get richer," remains very true.
People with money tend to have acquired it by making wise
decisions and purchases that enabled them to have even more
money. People without money tend to do the opposite.
If you're among the smaller percentage of people who will do
their holiday shopping this year without going into debt, give
yourself a big pat on the back!
If, on the other hand, the budget is a bit strained, why not
consider a gift like those mentioned here? Something that,
whether for yourself or others, is the gift of knowledge of how
to be better off financially.
Ever heard of a pearl of wisdom, or a jewel of knowledge? That's
because the right wisdom and the right knowledge can easily be
worth far more than its weight in gold.
Among the most precious jewels of knowledge that you will find
anywhere are two very inexpensive books that you can buy for
yourself or give to others:
Think & Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill
The Richest Man In Babylon, by George S. Clason
If you don't mind spending a little more and want to treat
yourself to a veritable tour de force of some of the best money,
money making, money management, life experience, and business
building philosophy that you will find anywhere at any price,
you would be hard pressed to find a better single source of
wisdom than the wealth of advice contained within Jim Rohn's
video seminar, "How To Have Your Best Year Ever!"
Two relative newcomers ( at least in comparison to how long the
above classics have been around ), but well worth it, are the
two books below:
The Millionaire Next Door, by Thomas J. Stanley, William D.
Danko
Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About
Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!, by Robert T.
Kiyosaki, Sharon L. Lechter
Even if you were to purchase ALL of the above books, all of
which line the bookshelves of my library, it would probably
still set you back less than a fraction of what you are probably
going to spend over the holidays. More importantly, how much are
the pearls of wisdom worth that are contained within? The answer
is that any one of the items mentioned above is easily
priceless, impossible, in fact, to put a true price tag on.
Many people have turned their lives around and earned thousands,
even millions more than they earned or were worth previously
simply by acquiring knowledge from one of the above resources.
Speaking of libraries, by the way, one of the bits of wisdom
that Jim Rohn dispenses in the video seminar mentioned above
(which you can also attend in person) is that if you go into any
home worth more than $200,000 you'll find that it probably has a
library.
Well, when that video was originally taped two decades ago, at
least in many parts of the country, a $200,000 home was likely
to have been the home of a "well to do" person. Now, of course,
in 2004, a $200,000 home is merely an "average" home, and in
some places might even be considered a rather modest abode.
In 2004 dollars you would probably have to up the value to a
half a million to a million dollar home or better before it
would again be true that every home in that price range is
likely to have a library.
If it's true that inside the home of every wealthy person you
are likely to find a library, what does that tell us? How might
we imagine they spend their time? What do they spend their money
on? Did they get where they are by spending lots of time in
front of the TV and running up their credit cards on things they
couldn't afford, or did they go about it a different way?
Is it a coincidence that each of the mentors whom I was
privileged to know who shared with me the first three books (and
video) mentioned above just happened to be millionaires, each
had a library, each had read these very same books (and many
more) and each just happened to have a habit of giving those
very same books (and the video) to others? I'm so very glad that
they happened to include me as one of those people. And now I'm
sharing the same information with you!
Except for the video, you can probably pick up a copy of any of
the above books at any good bookstore. More information, and
links, can be found here under the Resources section on
ABCIncome.com: