Some time ago I posted an article about moving forward in a bad economy, and called it “The 13 Commandments of Success”. I’m posting it again upon requests from some of my readers. I hope it helps get you through bad times.
Chronic poverty is a choice–or the end result of a series of bad choices. These problems are exacerbated by a social safety net that tends to reward that continued bad behavior.
In any period of economic upheaval, I thought it might be a good idea to make a simplified list of how to handle money- basics to refer people back to in one single posting, since I get on lot of emails on advice. This will allow me to post more fun threads about race cars, left wing bashing and sock monkeys. In no particular order, here we go- to wit:
1. Get a good job, but upgrade your skills through training or education to make yourself more valuable to your employer- constantly. Upgrade your resume every 5-7 years to keep yourself competitive on the market, and ask for yearly raises or promotions. If you don’t get them after 2 annual requests- move on. If you are unemployed for more than 18 months, its time to broaden your job search, get retrained or consider moving to where there is more work
3. Invest a portion of you income in a wide variety of long and medium term investments. Do not invest solely in one place, like the market, real estate or gold, since you will then be subject to the vagaries of that single market.
4. Maximize your tax deductions by hiring a professional to do them. Moreover, use professionals in specific fields to make sure you get the most out of your money, particularly as your net worth grows and you get older. Being retired is NOT living on a fixed income IF DONE PROPERLY – Social Security is indexed and a good retirement plan allows for inflation, and should NOT preclude you from enjoying your golden years.
12. Legitimate companies are not evil, they are not criminals and they do not look to rip off their consumers. Most problems arise from ignorance, neglect and a failure to assume that they must remain profitable to be there from year to year and to pay a dividend to their stockholders. A company is not evil when it seeks to protect it’s shareholders from catastrophic loss, such as a bankruptcy.
I’m sure there are a lot of others, but truly, these 13 disciplines of good planning and preparation will answer most posts from this forum. Follow these 13 and I can assure you, than even when life goes awry you will have a way of dealing with them.