Living in mansions and driving BMWs was never my passion. But right from my childhood I wanted to be rich enough to fulfill my small but expensive desires like having a Rolex watch on my hand or drive in a Toyota Camry. But as I grew and saw the world advancing, I slowly began to understand the meaning of a very old saying that “only if you aim for the sky, you will land among the stars.” And that applies for almost every living soul on earth.

Becoming a millionaire is one dream that people see with open eyes and spend their life toiling to reach their goal of being counted amongst the rich people of the world. There are those who succeed, but many are pulled back by the others in the race. But there is an interesting intermediary class of people who the world calls the ‘pretenders’. Any guesses why? Because no matter how hefty their debts are, they never compromise on their social status. But here is a piece of advice for such people, “Stop Acting Rich . . . and Start Living Like a Real Millionaire.”

A former university professor and the co-author finance books like “The Millionaire Next Door”, Thomas J. Stanley has once again shared his experience of examining the truly rich people in his book, “Stop Acting Rich . . . and Start Living Like a Real Millionaire.” (Wiley, $17.79). The author highlights that the credit, recession and crisis have presented us with the opportunity to treat and cure the pretenders.

“For the treatment to work, you must take a cold hard look at your balance sheet and at your life, and determine if you would be wealthier if you would stop acting rich,” he writes.

Stanley has bought very interesting facets of the life of real millionaires and the ones trying to emulate them. He points out at the major difference between the income and net worth and explains what counts to be a true millionaire. Some quite intriguing findings of his study include:

• 86% percent of all prestige or luxury makes of motor vehicles are driven by people who are not millionaires.
• Typically, millionaires pay about $16 (including tip) for a haircut.
• Nearly four in 10 millionaires buy wine that costs about $10.

His only aim behind the research is to make people aware of a very simple truth of life that only if people stop acting rich, they would be able to achieve the kind of happiness money can’t buy.

“For the treatment to work, you must take a cold hard look at your balance sheet and at your life, and determine if you would be wealthier if you would stop acting rich,” he writes.

The realistic book will help people get closer to reality, that pretending will never bring contentment or the real joy. Only accepting the fact that acting rich is far away from actually being truly wealthy will help them find the bliss of happiness.

Now, friends still raise the issue from time to time, but discussions have taken a different twist. “Would you marry for love or money?” They now ask.

I just found a report that attempts to answer the million-dollar question. According to “Marriage for love of money” at Wall Street Journal, two-thirds of women and half the men said they would marry for money.

When asked about their “price” to see them walk down the aisle, the singles said it would have to be over $1 million to $2 million in net worth.

But isn’t love the end-all and be-all of happiness? Doesn’t almost every chick-flick end with a blushing bride marrying the “man with a good heart” and they live happily ever after? Not necessarily. It’s the marriage that comes in bundles of money that lasts.

That’s at least according to Daniela Drake, a former McKinsey consultant, who recently raised the issue in her piece in Reuters. Are women better off marrying for money?

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As highlighted by Drake the glaring disparity between women and men in the workplace: The number of female CEOs on the Fortune 500 grew from eight to 12 in two years. “At this rate it will take a little over 100 years for us to represent half of the CEOs in the Fortune 500, in the year 2128,” she said.

Indeed, 12 is a disappointing figure, considering that a lot of women have sacrificed a lot to outpace men in the workplace. But who’s to blame? Unlike men, women are always torn between motherhood and career, and, unfortunately, many have chosen the path away from the corporate ladder. So, given that equality in the workplace is impossible to achieve in our lifetime, should women marry rich, then?

A financial adviser makes it very clear: Women should marry for love, but not for the love of money. He however, notes that many women from poorer countries who married men from richer ones have very successful marriages.

“There is something very attractive to women about a man with lots of money. Similarly, most men are fascinated by women with personal wealth.”

Personally, I’m not that financially desperate to pounce on just about anyone with a fat wallet. Will I ever consider tying the knot with a billionaire, just for his money? No. But if the person I love happens to be that billionaire, that would be perfect!

Let’s take this further. What if the one I love has no financial plan in place, has difficulty paying the bills and spends more than he earns? Now, that’s where the problem comes in. Money issues are the leading cause of divorce. We’ve heard that many times.

It does make sense when people say marriage is like a business arrangement, that money plays a critical role in the sustainability of a partnership. Do you really think your marriage will fare better if your partner is bad with finances? Do you honestly want to be with someone who is miserably in debt and squanders away all your hard-earned money?

I believe that love and commitment are a solid foundation for a marriage. But we should not ignore the fact that money problems can easily break a union.

I’m not saying you choose only a rich partner to cover your bases, but rather one who is responsible with money and makes your heart tick at the same time.

The subject is totally thought-provoking. The underlying message remains the same: Choose your partners wisely. Deliberately or not, it’s a financial decision too.

What’s your take on the issue?

We were together on my first date, first kiss, and first trip overseas. We were hand in hand when I left home to go to university.

My friend was there when I started my first real grown-up job, has seen girlfriends come and go, and has been my solace when I had nobody to turn to.

We briefly parted ways from time to time but always managed to find each other. We laughed, we danced, we stressed and we wept together.

We shared our ups and downs. Some times we exercised together and every now and then we even bathed together. That’s a lot of togetherness.

In the past few months I have slowly wakened up to the fact that this friend of mine, who I thought had always been there for me, has slowly been poisoning me from the inside out.

My friend has been digging into my pocketbook on a daily basis for the past 30 years, and stealing my money at the same time as he’s been stealing minutes from my life. My friend has not really been my friend at all.

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My friend has been blackening my lungs, stinking up my clothes and shortening my breath.

There is more to creating or destroying health than diet. If you are still smoking tobacco, or are concerned about a loved one who is then read on. Even if you are a non-smoker or x-smoker remembers the rule of polluted air – if you can smell it you are inhaling it.

Some people say that giving up smoking is one of the hardest things they have ever done. For me, cigarettes have been the punctuation in my life. They have provided the pauses, full stops and exclamations. They have defined moments.

They have marked the end of meals, the beginnings of conversations and the middle of periods of waiting. They have taken up random moments that I needed to occupy. I associate just about everything with smoking.

And yet quitting smoking has been surprisingly easy this time around. Last time I quit I found each day was a battle. I finally gave up on the fight after six months. That was five years ago.

I have known for some time that my relationship with smoking was on a downhill slope. It’s not that we haven’t been getting along. It’s just that I’ve been starting to realise how much more I was giving than receiving.

For the past few months, as I woke up and hacked up a lung while wheezing down my first smoke of the day, I told myself that I needed to quit smoking. I guess I was just mentally preparing myself.

Then one day I just snapped and realised that I’d had enough. I told myself that my next day off I would quit. And I did.

It’s been three weeks now and I’m mostly fine. Sometimes I pause what I’m doing and realise that the old me would be lighting up a cigarette right then. So I just find something else to occupy my thoughts and my hands.

Even though I know that I’m better off without them, I still do grieve a little for my old friend. We were together a long time and shared many important moments.

This has all left me with a few questions though. What do non-smokers use to punctuate their lives? Maybe quitting smoking is less about the cigarettes and more about learning to fill those moments.

Maybe it’s about not needing to define moments at all. Either way I suppose I am freer now than when I was tied down to my pack of smokes. I have to do it all alone, but at least I can breathe easy as I do. And of course not to forget the money I am going to save.

The other day I read an amazing statistic? It said that as many as half the people who end up divorced had a strong feeling before the wedding that they were doing the wrong thing but they were too embarrassed to pull out at the last minute. The fear of embarrassment is a powerful influence in the lives of most people.

Imagine that you slipped over in a public street, what would your first reaction be? If you are like most people you would look around to see who saw you.

Another, well known, statistic is that fear of public speaking is the number one fear that people have, but is it true? I suggest that their fear of public speaking is really a fear of being embarrassed publicly if they mess up.

So what’s all this got to do with being broke?

In order to become wealthy you need to set a goal to become wealthy. Since having lots of money is a lot more fun than being broke why doesn’t everyone set a serious goal to be rich? The reason is that they are afraid of the embarrassment if they tell everyone that they are going to be rich and then they fail.

It seems crazy to let your life be controlled by the fear of what other people may think of you, yet that is exactly what most people are doing. What about you? Are you letting the fear of embarrassment keep you from reaching your full potential, financially or otherwise?

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The first step to getting rid of the fear of embarrassment is to accept that you will never gain the approval of everyone. You could paint your house white and some people will love it but others will think you would have been better painting it blue or yellow. You’ll never please everyone.

If you can’t get the approval of everyone then whose approval should you seek? There is only one person’s approval that you need and that person is you. Happiness comes from within. Wealth comes from within. Success comes from within.

When you set financial goals it is your life that you are aiming to improve. Sure there is the chance that you will fail, but failure is only temporary. If you learn a bit more, and work a bit smarter then you can turn that failure into victory.

There is only one failure that is terminal. That is the failure to try in the first place. If you are letting fear of embarrassment rob you of your potential wealth then you truly are a failure because you don’t have the courage to set a goal and give it your best shot.

Make a decision to say goodbye to the fear of embarrassment. And while you’re at it make a decision to say goodbye to any of your friends who would think worse of your for setting a worthwhile goal and falling short.

Set a financially worthwhile goal. Give it your best shot and if you fall short then take it on the chin and learn some more and then give it another shot. And if anyone criticizes you for that then move on and find a better class of friend.

Company Chairman Ratan Tata, introducing the Nano during India’s main auto show, drove onto a stage in a white version of the tiny four-door subcompact, his head nearly touching the roof.With a snub nose and a sloping roof, the world’s cheapest car can fit five people — if they squeeze. And the basic version is spare: there’s no radio, no passenger-side mirror and only one windshield wiper. If you want air conditioning to cope with India’s brutal summers, you need to get the deluxe version.

While the price has created a buzz, critics say the Nano could lead to possibly millions more automobiles hitting already clogged Indian roads, adding to mounting air and noise pollution problems. Others have said Tata will have to sacrifice quality and safety standards to meet the target price.

The chairman, though, insists the car will meet safety standards and pollute even less than motorcycles, passing domestic and European emission standards and averaging about 50 miles per gallon (20 kilometers per liter).

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Chief U.N. climate scientist Rajendra Pachauri, who shared last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, said last month that “I am having nightmares” about the prospect of the low-cost car.

“Dr. Pachauri need not have nightmares,” Ratan Tata said at the unveiling. “For us it’s a milestone and I hope we can make a contribution to the country.”

The basic model will sell for for 100,000 rupees — $2,500 — but analysts estimate that customers could pay 20-30 percent more than that to cover taxes, delivery and other charges.

Tata has long promised that he’d create a 100,000-rupee car, a vow that was much-derided in the global industry but created a frenzy of attention in India. On Thursday, nearly every news station covered the unveiling live.

“A promise is a promise,” Tata told the crowd.

The company has said they expect the car to revolutionize the auto industry, and analysts believe the Nano may force other manufacturers to lower their own pricing. French automaker Renault SA and its Japanese partner, Nissan Motor Co., are trying to determine if they can sell a compact car for less than $3,000.

For now, the car will be sold only in India, but Tata has said it eventually hopes to export it. The Nano could become the basis for other similar super-cheap models in developing markets around the world.

As rising middle class incomes drive demand for cars in India, automakers expect the ranks of car owners in the country to expand dramatically in coming years.

But for some, a huge influx of cars is a terrifying prospect of traffic jams at midnight, hours-long commutes and increasing pollution.

“If you’re talking about urban environment, it will cause serious problems,” said Jamie Leather, a transport specialist with the Asian Development Bank. “It’s a major concern.”

In 2005, Indian vehicles released 219 million tons of carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.

By 2035, that number is projected to increase to 1,467 million tons, due largely to the expanding middle-class and the expected rise of low-cost cars, according to the Asian Development Bank.

“The cheaper and cheaper vehicles become, the quicker those pollution levels will increase,” Leather said.

Source Yahoo Finance

The popular phrase ‘not enough hours in the day’ is a particular giveaway. You definitely need reminding that all hours aren’t equal. They vary widely in their effectiveness – so much so, that time management has become a formal study, keenly encouraged in corporate life. One half of time management is just ordinary good housekeeping. You look around the office and find a lot of ways you can achieve small-time savings. The coffee-machine could be closer to where most people sit, allowing shorter journeys.

Those big files could do with a bit of sorting out, to speed up the routine paperwork. Maybe put up a notice discouraging long phone calls, etc. No doubt this all adds up.

But the other half of time management focuses right in on the dynamics of time itself. And under analysis, you find that there are two completely distinct kinds of working time, which literally fight.

One of them is control time, where you control the duration of the job. The other is response time, where you react to interruptions which control you. Let’s take a typical example of control time and response time in conflict.

Two managers are working separately on a major report, which requires concentration, but are also having to allow time for dialogue with the rest of the department.

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One of the managers Jerry puts in half-an-hour on the report, then his concentration slips, so he takes a break by ‘doing the rounds’. Someone needs a problem sorted, which unexpectedly takes half-an-hour. So it’s at least an hour before he is back at his desk. Ten minutes later, the boss rings to fix a meeting for sometime that day. “How about now?” he answers.

The other manager Michelle, faces the same situation, but handles it differently. She rings one of her department, to say she’ll be doing the rounds in half-an-hour, knowing that she’ll need a break by then. During her tour, one team-member has a problem that needs fixing. “Come and see me in half-an-hour, when I’ll be ready for another break” she says. They duly fix the problem, which also takes half-an-hour.

Ten minutes later, the boss rings her too, to fix a meeting for today. “How about half-an-hour’s time?” she says, and returns to another focused session on her report.

The difference is that Jerry has only spent the first half-hour in control time, while Michelle has managed to arrange three half-hour sessions in control time.

So ‘not enough hours in the day’ usually just means that your time is controlling you, rather than the other way about. In fact, experience shows that your time will automatically try to control you, unless you actively prevent it.

In other words, time management has a lot to do with showing time who’s boss. Key points in Managing your time. Not enough hours in the day’ often signals, 1. Poor time management. 2. Distinguish between the time you control, and the time that controls you. 3. Good time management is increasingly at the heart of enterprise culture.

Skin was grafted from his head to seal his torso – but the legless Mr Peng was left only 78cm (2ft 6in) tall. Bedridden for years, doctors in China had little hope that he would ever be able to live anything like a normal life again.

I know what you are thinking now, “Well Mr Robin Bal, what’s all this got to do with Personal Finance, Investing, Debt Elimination etc.” A LOT, go on continue reading, get the message.

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But recently, he began exercising his arms, building up the strength to carry out everyday chores such as washing his face and brushing his teeth. Doctors at the China Rehabilitation Research Centre in Beijing found out about Mr Peng’s plight late last year and devised a plan to get him up walking again.

They came up with an ingenious way to allow him to walk on his own, creating a sophisticated egg cup-like casing to hold his body with two bionic legs attached to it. He has been taking his first steps around the center with the aid of his specially adapted legs and a resized walking frame. Mr Peng, who has to learn how to walk again, is said to be delighted with the device.

Call it Self Confidence, Determination, Personal Development, Goal Achievement or whatever, all these have a lot to do with all departments of your life, leave alone Finances.

Source Original post was published on 9 July 2007 at metro.co.uk

A few months earlier Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world, made an assertion. In an interview that was widely reported, he stated, “Our concept is more to accomplish and solve things, rather than giving; that is, not going around like Santa Claus…. Poverty isn’t solved with donations.” In a recent two-hour interview in his office, Mr. Slim promised that there would be no ceiling on his donations. “We want to get to the root of problems, no limits,” he said.

Because Mexico’s income distribution is severely skewed, Mr. Slim has come to personify the small elite who control vast sections of the economy. So he has been feeling the pressure to give much of his enormous fortune away. Some time ago, he pledged to increase the endowments of his companies’ foundations to $10 billion from $4 billion in the next four years. He promises to spend money on education and health.

Very few would argue with Mr. Slim’s assertion that poverty cannot be ended by donations. Slim wants to build huge hospitals in northern Mexico where the country-region can ship tens of thousands of Medicare patients for health care that can be delivered at much cheaper costs.

Slim was unimpressed at how Buffett and Gates vowed late last year to combine their entire fortunes into the world’s largest foundation to do good works.

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“Our concept is more to accomplish and solve things, rather than giving,”Slim said. Unlike Bill Gate of Microsoft, considered the best-heeled man in the world, who donated a good part of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Slim considers it more important to establish opportunities that will accelerate the people’s ability to form new businesses. He repeats: “Poverty is not fought with donations” He elaborates: I think what Bill Gates is doing is well done, he is not just giving support, but dedicating himself full time to resolve the problems that generate poverty; which is good, because it involves more doing than giving.”

He also referred to Warren Buffet, No. 3 billionaire, who also donated 80 percent of his fortune to the Gates couple’s foundation. But he, said Slim, established a system in which the funds are not transferred unless the people managing them are efficient at generating high levels of revenue.

So, is Carlos Slim Helú a good guy or a bad guy? Neither, or both, depending on your politics. He’s a rich businessman who intends to use his skills, influence, money and the law to get richer. Just like every other rich businessman. And just like every other businessman who wishes or dreams he was rich.

Admit it. You’ve said that at least once to someone going through a rough time–we all have. Matter of fact, it’s much more than a well-worn, well-meaning phrase that we instinctively say before hanging up the phone, anxious to our friendship duty. Do we ever question if we’re doing the routine rounds or do we feel a pull in our heart?

Let’s face it–how many of us, while in the midst of a crisis, can really get it together to tell exactly what we need? Unless of course it is an injection of a dose of money. So that brings us to the million dollar question–How do you deal with friends who need Financial help?

This could be a delicate situation that can perhaps degenerate itself into a difficult situation, as compared to your own financial status at that moment. If you’d like to help a friend who’s in a financial mess, just keep in the back of your mind that “Money really is power.” And it’s your responsibility to be sensitive to that.

Should you lend money to your friends? Shakespeare said, “Lend money to a friend and you lose both, money and friend.” My dad educated me a bit on this; his advice was that if at all you must help a friend financially, never lend more than you can afford to lose. That’s also my advice for people who are out to make a killing in the stock market–never invest more than you can afford to lose. And that’s what they call the “risk capital.” How much risk capital do you have after all your savings for the rainy day?

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If you’ve loaned people money before and you had a bad experience, tell the person who wants to borrow what happened. Explain that it’s not a matter of trusting that you’ll be paid back. It’s just that you’re not interested in a business arrangement that could cloud an otherwise solid relationship.

If however you do offer to lend money to a friend you could follow these steps: Make a written contract. Make it clear when it is to be paid back and of course make sure you feel happy with the situation.

These steps may sound brutal, but in the long run, they will prove beneficial to yourself, your money, your friend’s money and your the friendship. These are hard facts and unwritten rules of friendship. You can only pretend to ignore them; but, if you want to keep your money AND keep your friend, these rules are the unwritten gospels of truth.

At times you may be able to get out of a situation by offering advice. Ask yourself if you’re sincere and genuine in giving advice to your friend on how he or she could come out of their financial mess. Put yourself in your friend’s shoes. It’s well known that a lot of people get into financial difficulties due to sheer lack of finance management. And some of the direct results of this are insecurity, fear, anger and depression. These feelings of anxiety and confusion can also cause one to make poor money management decisions. These poor decisions can lead to heavy debt loads, and start a vicious cycle of fear, anxiety, and panic that never seem to end.

Set your priorities first. Is the well-being of you, and your family has to be your priority during times of financial stress? Did you notice how “well-being of you” came first in the last sentence, and not “your family?” The reason for that is simple–if you take care of you first, then you are indeed taking care of your family. In financially stressful times, if you, as the head of the family, can’t cope, can you expect your children to cope? Now, or in the future?

If you want to achieve your vocational passion, where every day you jump out of bed and can’t wait to go to work, then you need to re-order your priorities. Stay away from the purely material.

The pursuit of material success often is the root cause of burnout at midlife. In fact, a recent study found that people primarily motivated by the love of their work grow dissatisfied as they begin to make more money. The first step to breaking free from the materialism trap is to understand the difference between “need” and “want.”

We need food, clothing, shelter, reliable transportation, education, enrichment, and the technology necessary to do our work. Also, we need the occasional small indulgence to treat our children and ourselves.

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We do not need 500 cable TV channels, brand new luxury cars, 5,000-square-foot homes in exclusive neighborhoods, lavish ski vacations, and smart phones that do everything but think for us.

There is nothing wrong with wanting these things. But understand that these things do not make us happy, in and of them. And, they are often links in the chains that bind us to jobs we despise.

Often, those who make a leap to vocational passion end up making more money over the long term. But in the short term, income usually declines. It may even go away for a period of time. Typically, the first two years of a career change – in particular, one motivated purely by vocational passion – are financially difficult. Major lifestyle and attitude adjustments are critical to making the money last while you pursue your dream.

The amazing thing is that once you learn to live on less, it becomes a habit. The peace of mind that comes from relying less on materialism to define success usually leads to a greater and deeper happiness.

Now we understand that pursuing vocational passion requires a major adjustment in our attitude toward money and material comfort. The next step is getting down to the details.

The trick is to look at all expenses, both big and small. Leave no stone unturned. No savings is too small, and no category of spending should be free from scrutiny.

Consider these options to cut down your burn rate. Some will seem dramatic. But if you have decided that your only chance at happiness is to pursue a vocational dream, small measures won’t cut it.

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Not many people are left out there who have yet to discover card cravings. Nearly everyone is out to chase card bills.This is because the majority remains unaware of the insurance deals offered with the cards, most are suffering from credit card debt and are ergo unable to apply for second mortgage, let alone equity loans.