Success Archives - MoneyWatch101

Milestones Realized in 2016

Increased Dividend Income from 4500 in 2015 to 5580. (Increase of 25%)

As I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, invest today so that you can grow dividends. These dividends will pay me for life as long as I hold them, and if a company decides not to pay dividends one day, then I will just sell the stock and buy a competitor’s. Saving money has benefits, but investing money to get free money is the ultimate benefit in my book. I predict if I continue on this pace I’ll be able to reach 10K in 3 years. Some of you might think 3 years is a long time, but believe me it goes fast. Imagine how many shares I can pick up with 10 thousand dollars of free compounding money. This year dividend payouts amounts were down for the majority of my index funds, and this hurt my goal of 6K in annual dividends. FYI almost all dividends are reinvested into tax deferred retirement accounts and I do not have access to this money. What milestones realized in 2016 made you smile?

I saved 27% of gross income. (With the employer Match)

Hey man this is just simple to do, automate automate till your blue in the face. Set up 401K or IRA money to be deducted immediately from every pay check. The opportunities are everywhere to save so take advantage today. Connect bank accounts with investment accounts to make the transition even smoother.

I was able to do various spending freezes throughout the Year

Spending freezes are fun for me, and I do them to challenge myself from time to time. We all should practice this and when you do, funnel the money towards the next best goal. If that is paying down debt or funding your next vacation, as long as you act and don’t let the funds roll over into the next month.

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How Do I Define Success

When this idea entered my mind I was traveling about 35 miles per hour on a side street going home. Why did this idea all of a sudden enter my consciousness? If I could answer where creativity comes from and possibly how such inspirations come about, maybe I can give all of you a definitive explanation. But for now I will take it as a sign to just keep on plugging away trying to find my own success and or happiness around this personal finance journey intertwined with this PF blog. How do I define success? Keep reading below to find out and maybe confirm if you agree with the definition of success.

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Milestones Achieved in 2014

milestones achieved in 2014

Happy New Year! Hello friends if you are reading this you will soon learn of all the milestones achieved in 2014. I want to do this every New Year as a way to remember what I accomplished and as a way to help me set up my new goals going forward. I hope you succeeded in completing a few goals of your own this year.

Now this is not a post to brag, but a way to recognize that I am finally keeping track of finances and that just transforms me to keep superseding previous goals. I want to give you a few milestones relating to several topics, but the majority will be related to personal finance or money management, as this is in line with the subject matter of this blog.

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The Door to Opportunities

I work in an office building that has a medical office by the front entrance. I have noticed on many occasions that the first time customers of this medical office for some reason walk right by the nice light wood colored door with a stand right in front of it stating MRI lab. Why do these people miss the door completely and continue towards the back of the building, as if they are expecting another entrance. Do the doctors have to place neon lights for these folks so that they can recognize the door? I don’t know, but I will say this, many people miss opportunities every day because they fail to see the door.

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The Company you Keep

Do all of you believe in the saying you are who you are based on the company you keep. If your family and friends define you as per this statement, then if they are not on your level does that mean you will not grow or maybe they will hold you back? What if the coin was on the other side, and you have a group of friends who want to give you the boot because you are not winning as per their standards. Maybe you have not had success in a few years and feel you are in a rut professionally, does that qualify you to be a loser? This thinking came to me as I was reading a post that made a hidden reference stating people will be more successful if they are around successful people.

OK the question of the day is when do you know if you should move on, and find more successful people or if you should stay loyal to your original circle and hopefully they will surprise you one day by getting that PHD degree. I am struggling with finding the appropriate reasoning behind leaving your good friends that you get along with but may not be at your level. Maybe I am different from others who are cut throat type of individuals, or maybe since watching the movie Rudy I was forever changed. (90% of the time I root for the underdog unless it is my favorite team)

The second question is what if you are the person being dumped or pushed aside, what would you do? Keep attempting to hang out and communicate with a person disinterested in you or move on as well. I can’t believe it but this happens all the time here at my place of work. Certain circles of people hang every day and then in a month or two one person is suddenly out casted, thus not seen every day with the same crowd and is now eating lunch Hans Solo. Damn people can be rude at times, but do they have reasoning or not? Can that sort of behavior lead to promotions and success in the office? I really do not know, but I have heard the richer get richer. People who invest in businesses and real estate join forces with others with the same mentality or for that fact the same wallet size. Do you know how awkward it would be to ask your buddy that has 50 K debt and a 30K income to invest in a 3 family house with you? Hello the answer will be 95% of the time a flat-out, I can’t do it buddy.

In Conclusion will you, if you strive for more find a circle of successful friends or stick with the original circle of friends you had? Maybe you have the drive and determination to achieve success by yourself and not involve your friends or family. Do you think Wal-Mart, Microsoft, or Apple would be the successful companies they have become without help from those close to the founders? I would assume no is a possibility to the answer. Everyday millions of no name insiders make things happen for companies and thus continue in making the entity successful. A great idea is the starting point, but without a successful motivated and energized team the idea would not get off the ground.

That great show you see with all the great actors who bring you joyous TV magic do not do it by themselves. There are at least 30 + show staffers who make it happen behind the scenes. What does this crap have to do with the post? If you strive for success and are one step closer to a major milestone, do you trust some new business acquaintance to help you do business dealings or would you be more willing to trust a friend you have known for years.
I think I would probably trust somebody whom I have known for years. My one trepidation would be that a relationship can turn sour when you intertwine money with family / friends.

Comment if you agree with the company you keep post above or if you do not? Have you ever dropped a friend because they were a complete mess and didn’t strive for success?

Rich Uncle EL

The Layoff Generation

Hello the Layoff generation term came to me like the many other random ideas I get throughout the week. Many people I know including myself have been laid off at least once in their lives and I’m beginning to question are we the new layoff generation. The generation where a pink slip is always on the back of people’s minds and can come at a moments notice. Where is the loyalty company’s had back in the 80’s for its employees, or the security company’s provided employees in the 60’s? Back then it was the norm to work at a single employer for decades. Now we average about 10-12 jobs in our lifetimes. Leaving all of us to wonder what can we expect for our kids and grandkids careers? Will they be laid off twice as much as us or maybe three times the average.

I think work is becoming very much a make me a lot of money and I will not release you to acquire a cheaper faster younger version of you. This is just downright sad to slap millions with unemployment, during the worst recession in U.S. history, after giving all those years of hard work and effort. That will just make this generation feel abandoned, scolded, and guarded in the next job we get. “Corporate America is evolving and if you are not in line with our profits then move and get out-of-the-way they say.” Even the government has adopted the same policy and will cut people’s pay while adding a furlough period on top of it to save money. How about cutting all the bloat funds going to the military, before cutting federal employees’ salaries I say. I think common sense has taken a back seat to company’s bottom line. Loyalty was stuffed in time capsule back in the late 80’s never to be found. Enough is enough.

What can you do to avoid being victimized by the layoff experience? Take a proactive approach and learn as much as possible. Make your skills speak for themselves and make them want you by entertaining various offers every year from other companies. Go to college and get a profession that will give you a career you can control. Not even CEO’s who originally founded their companies are safe now days. Just ask the Groupon CEO, who recently got the boot with no severance. Imagine you build a great website with a million readers, make the company public, thus needing a board to police the CEO and the company, then getting fired from the company you started. That is just wrong, and should never be considered unless the CEO was abusing the company’s value and possibly hurting the bottom line.

Professional Careers that will help you beat the layoff pink slip:
Doctor – (Degrees and Certifications in the medical field)
Lawyer and Judges
Dentist
IT Professionals – (Learn all programming skills)
App Development – (Learn coding for application creation)
Registered Nurse
Police Officers with 5 years or more already served
Certified Financial Professional (Auditor, Treasury, Payroll, Tax, Comptroller)
Engineers with high credentials
High level School Administrator – (Principles, Superintendents)

These are just a few of the positions that will help you avoid the possibilities of being laid off. In addition to this you will have the skills necessary to be in demand anywhere in the US and possibly internationally. I hope you can see the difference between having a regular job and having a career like the ones I mentioned above. It will take hard work to achieve a career in these fields, but anything is possible. As long as you begin your journey in the right way and if you know early on in college what is it that you want to do will help a lot? Consistently building skills will eventually get you to achieve more and possibly save you from a future lay off.

Feedback from the Readers:

Comment if you feel we are the layoff generation?

Comment if you already are in one of these positions? How difficult was it to accomplish? Have you avoided being laid off?

Rich Uncle EL

Who are you really?

This question was asked in a Oprah interview I saw on TV over the weekend. Who are you really? I know what your thinking, but keep those crazy thoughts to yourself. Oprah asked this question to a famous celebrity, because they live life partly open and mostly secretive. So I get why she asked this question because this person has millions of fans and you guessed it fans are curious. Furthermore I still think it is very important for everybody to answer this question so here it goes.

I feel it is my obligation to share a little bit of myself from time to time to let you in to my world. I am doing this blogging thing and started it without disclosing everything 100%. I do not feel comfortable sharing my income and my net worth yet because a lot of family and friends read this blog.

Because of this I can still share with you some of my goals and what I want out of this life in greater detail. Hopefully you can read it as a way to help me along the way if you enjoy the website and care to give some support or maybe you don’t give a rats @ss and will never read my blog again. Either way I respect your decision, but I do feel I add some value to my readers lives.

Who are you really? : A Family man who wishes to provide for his family all the things necessary in life with a few luxuries from time to time in order to enjoy life. I want to do these things year after year while decreasing my currently restricted time given towards work and increasing my free time to spend on the things I want to do. (Family time, hobbies, volunteering, and personal goals) I want recognition for the things I do,(PF Blogger and Financial Professional), but I do not want or expect full-blown fame at this point in my life. Kind of daunting to fathom blowing up from one day to the next, like MJ. I want success but in the financial aspect of it. Meaning I want my efforts to pay me more than my bills and lifestyle while allowing me to save for a secure future. I want to get the things that I need first and foremost, then my wants, without having to worry if the income will be their next month or if a layoff is around the corner. Meaning I want to take matters everyday more into my hands and work for myself and less for somebody else.

Goals prompted by asking myself: Who are you really?:

– Increase twitter followers to 500, Facebook to 200, and email readers to 100.

– Increase income by 25% by getting a better paying career, side income, or business income.

– Become Certified in financial planning and also become certified in personal training.

– Double Family Net Worth in two years and every two years after that.

– Eliminate school loan debt in two / three years.

– Travel to new places and learn different cultures with the family.

Article on finding yourself: Link

Comment if you agree or disagree that knowing who you are really will help you achieve goals?

Rich Uncle EL

Friday Quotes VII

I wanted to share with you a few quotes today and hopefully this will get you motivated to start the weekend right. These financial quotes will help you get motivation in your life, whether it may be you are working a part-time / side job, looking at growing a business, taking care of a real estate property, or attempting to save a number of pesos this weekend by not making it rain in the clubs. Either way I wanted to share with you these excellent quotes and you guys can take the message any which way your mind desires.

Friday’s Best Quotes:

Action is the foundational key to all success. -Pablo Picasso

Working 8 hours a day for others then relaxing another 4 at home will never do much for success- RichUncle EL

Believing you can do it is always the first action towards success-RichUncle EL

Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure. -George Edward Woodberry

As you can see the theme of today’s quotes are based on success and how to really grab it and make it a part of your routine. People work for themselves everyday and provide for their families by doing what they enjoy doing. Have you ever met somebody who was self employed and did not enjoy what they did to provide for themselves? I have not, and I consider those individuals as truly successful in their own ways. You make a trinket and sell it on Etsy, amazon, or EBay that is an excellent way to succeed in a small way. If you sell a thousand of those trinkets then you are really winning.

Blogging is also a way to work for yourself by writing original pieces of literature that you can pimp out to the world. Some get paid to offer excellent advice on personal finance and others do it for the love of the game. Either way I am doing something I like to do and that is sharing with all of you what’s in my head relating to personal finance.

The content this week in the PF blog world has been a bit lacking but I will share with you a few that I enjoyed reading.

Best PF Blog Posts:

The Money Counselor-Intimidated by Investing Jargon

Mr. Money Mustache-Tim Ferris vs. MMM (Old Post)

AddVodka- Why PF Bloggers are self centered

I hope you enjoy the posts as I did. Comment below if you have any favorites you would like to share with the moneywatch101 readers.

RichUncle EL