Here are five money tips that can put you on the path to riches:
- Be selfish.
When you get on an airplane, what do they tell you during the safety instructions? “Put your own mask on first, and then help the person beside you.”
It should be the same way with our time and our finances. Be selfish and take care of yourself first, and then you can have more flexibility to take care of others. The problem is that so many of us put others first and then aren’t able to help ourselves.
- Improve your credit score.
Credit is boring and I hate to talk about it, but it does make a difference. Think about it: Most of life’s biggest expenses are purchased on credit. It’s important to start to take care of it now because there is going to be a situation in the future where you’ll wish you had.
The way to improve your credit score again starts with awareness. Get your free report each year from AnnualCreditReport.com and find out if there are any items that are directly hurting your score (which you can get for free at Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, or Credit.com). Address those now and you’ll save yourself many thousands in the future.
- Define what true wealth means for you.
In the dictionary, wealth is defined as “a large amount of money and possessions.” However, when you ask someone who is truly wealthy, you get a completely different answer.
As I show in “Make Money, Live Wealthy,” the 75 entrepreneurs I interviewed most often shared words like freedom, purpose, family, health, experiences and other things that mean much more than just money.
Money is an important tool that makes all of these other things much easier, but it shouldn’t necessarily be the goal in and of itself. Realize this and you will ultimately create your dream life much sooner.
- Add another income stream.
One thing that I learned over and over again from the wealthy this year is that they never rely on one income stream. They have numerous sources, which protect them from changes in the economy and also add up to the greatest numbers.
If you want to make 2015 your most lucrative year yet, your best bet is likely to add another source of income.
- Focus on passive and residual income.
There is only so much time in the day, so it’s hard to build wealth quickly when you’re trading your time for money. Instead, the wealthy focus on building income streams where they can get paid over and over again for their work by putting their business or money to work for them.
Examples of this include the investing, owning real estate, running an online business, and writing a book. If you’re going to do the work, you might as well get paid over and over again for your efforts. Work hard, but also work smart, and you’ll much sooner find the freedom you dream of.
