Friday, May 29, 2009

Biggest Money Mistakes Series - 3


Just like many others, I have gone from broke to multi-millionaire by following some simple concepts that allow anyone to move from debt to wealth, on any income. One thing you will note about the following money mistakes; they deal more about attitudes, beliefs and values than specific tips.

Mistake # 3: Credit cards are more convenient than cash or checks.
This is one of the most frightening mistakes many people make. They operate unconsciously when it comes to using credit. They think that someday, magically, they will have enough money to pay off their credit card debts. Unfortunately, even if they refinance their home, get an inheritance or win a lottery and pay off the credit cards, the debts only come back again. Getting the money from anywhere other than systemically paying off the debts teaches the individual nothing about how to get rid of debt. It only teaches them that they can get another family gift or a consolidation loan.

Solution: Drop the credit cards cold turkey and live the lifestyle of “pay as you go.” Use the money you set aside for emergencies to replace the situations where you would have used a credit card. Also, wake up and realize the credit issuers are not your friends. Their advertisements are designed to put you in bondage, not provide freedom. Borrowing money against your home to go on a vacation is crazy.

Rennie Gabriel – Rennie@RennieGabriel.com
Author of Wealth on Any Income: 12 Steps to Freedom

Biggest Money Mistakes Series - 2

Many people have gone from broke to multi-millionaire by following some simple concepts that allow anyone to move from debt to wealth, on any income. In this series, you will see that the following money mistakes deal more about attitudes, beliefs and values, versus failing to reconcile your checkbook.

Mistake # 2: Emergencies always show up and ruin my savings goals.
In studying the spending habits of thousands of people for over 20 years I discovered that many people live on 105% to 115% of what they earn. They didn’t plan financially for their vacation, back to school clothes for their children or for the car to break down. But it happens, and when it does they turned to their credit cards to solve the problem and the balances grew and grew.

Solution: In addition to saving for retirement, set aside 10% of your income to spend later on the emergencies you didn’t plan for that will happen anyway. This will also cover back to school clothes, vacations, and possibly property taxes. The goal is to live on 75% to 80% of what you earn after taxes.

Rennie Gabriel – Rennie@RennieGabriel.com
Author of Wealth on Any Income: 12 Steps to Freedom

Biggest Money Mistakes Series - 1

Many people have gone from broke to multi-millionaire by following some simple concepts that allow anyone to move from debt to wealth, on any income. One thing you will note about money mistakes; they deal more about attitudes, beliefs and values, versus failing to review a restaurant receipt for errors. In the Biggest Money Mistakes series you will find the six most common attitude errors that prevent people from creating wealth, and the solutions to that faulty thinking.

Mistake #1. There is no reason to track my cash spending because it doesn’t add up to enough money.
People have the attitude that only large amounts of money are important and that small amounts of money are not. They will not be concerned about how invest a few hundred dollars, but only thousands of dollars. They will think nothing of spending $5 a pack of cigarettes or a cup of coffee and muffin at Starbucks when they can make the same things at home for 50 cents. The fallacy is you can’t get to the large amounts of money to invest if you spend all the small amounts. You must have respect for the small amounts too. Over a 30-year time frame, $5 per day can create a $1,000,000 portfolio when invested appropriately.

Solution: Use a small notebook or spending register to track all cash spending. You cannot create a change in your behavior you are unaware of it. Create awareness by tracking your cash spending. Track everything from 25 cents in the parking meter to a fancy dinner and tip.

Rennie Gabriel – Rennie@RennieGabriel.com
Author of Wealth on Any Income: 12 Steps to Freedom

Monday, May 18, 2009

Donate Catered Food


Did you know that if you have a party catered at a hotel or other venue that you can have the leftover food donated to a charity or homeless shelter?

However, you will not find any caterer offering to do this for you. They will cite fears of lawsuits over spoiled food, inconvenience of arranging pick-up, or some other excuse. The bottom line is this; people are starving all over the world, and when there is so much left over food from all sorts of parties and events, it makes sense that left-over food should be donated.

We even have a federal law that protects restaurants and caterers from the fear of lawsuits. There are no valid excuses. The Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act was signed into law (PL 104-210) on 10-1-96 by then President Bill Clinton.

California State Senator, Jenny Oropeza has sponsored a bill to require the notification that food can be donated, but has met strong resistance from restaurants.

You can make a difference. Tell whoever caters your next event, or one that you attend, that the left-over food should be donated. Be prepared with a charity or homeless shelter in mind with the contact information of the individual responsible to receive the food. People do not have to go hungry.

For more details, please see the article from the Los Angeles Times dated March 25, 2009 by David Lazarus.

Rennie