Finance Book

Turning debt into wealth is easy, right? It can be a lot easier if you have the right tools and the patience. Here are some of the tools the rich use to with their wealth creation:

Budgeting Tools: Yes, believe it or not, wealthy people budget. They may not budget the same way other people do, but they know exactly where there money is coming and exactly where it is going out. A simple monthly/daily spreadsheet will do the trick, or take a look at the Mint personal finance program will help you. However you do it, budgeting is an essential component to turning debt into wealth.



Books and Magazines: Wealthy people are always trying to become better. In order to do that, the rich are constantly tying to increase their IQ. Reading books on investing, self-improvement, money management and other areas of interest keep them inspired while learning new ways to create wealth and produce more income streams. Increase your understanding of personal finance, and you’ll be leaps and bounds ahead of other people in turning your debt into wealth.

Wealthy Friends: The rich know that becoming wealthy requires some friendships. You need people who are good money managers, people who can give sound tax advice, and people who have a vision. Friends and connections make the wealthy wealthier. Connect and surround yourself with people that have a wealthy mindset and you will naturally become that way yourself.



Earplugs: Rich people understand that investing is a long-term strategy that will produce great wealth over time. The day-to-day fluctuations in the market that the media focuses on has little relevance to the individual investor’s portfolio 10 years from now. Learn to avoid the noise, and stay focused on your plan to turn debt into wealth.

Automation: Millionaires are far too busy making money or enjoying life to have to worry about paying the bills, saving enough money and doing menial tasks like transferring funds to their brokerage account. Set up their bank accounts to automatically pay your bills and invest so you can put debt into wealth transformation on autopilot.

By: Ryan J. Taylor

If you need help with debt at the moment then one of the solutions that you might consider could be a debt management plan.

These are now big business and some companies have tens of thousands of clients on their books. It is estimated that in 2009, 330,000 people will have a formal debt management plan with a professional company. Many hundreds of thousands more will be doing their own temporary plans with their lenders, some offering as little as £1 a month.

A professional debt management plan is run by a company with a Consumer Credit Licence. A company should not offer debt advice without such a licence.

As a professional business the usual debt company will also levy a fee for its services. Typically you can expect to pay your first monthly payment as a set up fee and then about 15% of each subsequent monthly payment as a management fee which helps pay for the work that is done on your behalf each month.

For their money the debt management company will undertake a full income and expenditure analysis with you. This is to ascertain how much disposable income you have. It is the disposable income which will form the basis of the offer that you make to your creditors.

It is the debt management company’s skill and relationship with your creditors which gives you the opportunity to have your offer of payment accepted. If the creditors are happy that you are making a reasonable offer based upon the cash that you have available, they will be happy to accept reduced monthly payments on the understanding that these will be made every month on time.

They will do this as they will not have to chase you each month for payments of varying amounts and therefore the costs of managing your account falls considerably.

Once your payment amount is set, you will set up a direct debit with the debt management company and when the money comes in to them, they deduct their fee and send the balance, pro rata to your creditors.

As long as payments are made each month the creditor will usually be happy to freeze interest and charges.

If you feel that you would benefit from talking to someone about debt management, a quick search of the internet should reveal plenty of companies to talk to.   

By: Steve P Thatcher

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason was one of the first books I read on the subject of wealth. I was fascinated by the storyteller’s simple principles to acquire wealth and riches and I thought, “This is too easy”. Yet, all those years ago with the knowledge held within the pages of this simple book, I did not take heed. It would be many years before I understood what the story had foretold and I, like many others, would learn the hard way about building a relationship with money.

With our economy in a state of influx and our country’s future uncertain, it would be prudent to teach our younger generations the importance of establishing a strong relationship with money. So many books have been written on the subject of money management and yet 8 out of 10 households have credit card debt in excess of $10,000. Why haven’t we learned the simple rules of building wealth? Where did we miss the mark? Lack of discipline and respect for money has caused much of this country’s default status. A small portion of blame can be placed upon the educational system. That’s right…the curriculum is not inclusive of finance and money management. Our children are learning how to count, but not how to spend. Parents should be more proactive in teaching their children about the realities that lay ahead in the real world concerning money.

The lessons are simple; the action is difficult for those who have never systematically implemented a plan. However, with commitment and a goal bigger than your immediate wants, you will achieve your financial goals with ease. The following is a rudimentary outline of the seven prosperity principles as this author has interpreted them from the famous book:

Principle 1 – Pay You First

Principle 2 – Create a Spending Plan

Principle 3 – Make Your Money Multiply

Principle 4 – Avoid “Get Rich Quick” Schemes

Principle 5 – Own Your Own Home

Principle 6 – Insure Your Future

Principle 7 – Increase Your Ability to Earn

The old cliché “it’s not how much money you have, it’s what you do with it that counts” is true and there aren’t enough of us doing what we should with our money. The downside to this is we are in a race against time, never knowing when we will run out. Each of the seven principles outlined here gives you the foundation for establishing a financially secure future. You can choose not to be a statistic of the working poor, or worse, never reaching retirement age. Start right where you are; it’s never too late.

By: Kim Harris