10 Best Kept Secrets to Building Wealth Digital Workbook
Want to start your journey to financial success? Access our 10 Best Kept Secrets to Building Wealth! Learn about the secrets and apply the knowledge using the worksheets.
1. FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE ISN'T JUST ABOUT MONEY
One of the best pieces of advice you can receive about why to create wealth is that until you are financially free, you aren’t really free. Why? Because financial freedom buys you time and with time you can discover and experience what you really want out of life.
As an investor you have the power to make a conscious decision to forgo some of your spending today in exchange for spending later to buy your lifestyle.
What is your Financial Independence Number (FIN)?
2. THE SECRET STRATEGY FROM THE RICHEST MAN IN BABYLON
Pay Yourself First
The most powerful wealth building tool you have is your income. Saving a portion of what you earn for yourself and investing it is a powerful way to create wealth. It's simple but not easy until you discover that it's the engine that will drive your wealth machine.
In Babylon lived two men that both made the same income...
Ways to Find & Save Money
Manage Expenses
- Raise deductibles on auto & homeowners policies
- Raise deductibles on health insurance and start an HSA account
- Drop Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) when home equity exceeds 20%
- Restructure high interest debt into tax-deductible low-interest debt
- Cancel credit life insurance on mortgage, car loans and credit cards
Existing Resources
- Reposition low-interest savings
- Reposition contributions to mutual funds or brokerage accounts
- Last year’s tax refund
Increase Income
- Earn tax deductions by starting your own business
- Adjust your W-2 allowances to receive tax refund early
3. DISCOVER EINSTEIN'S EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD
The Rule of 72
Divide 72 by the interest or rate of return on your investment to discover the number of years it takes for your money to double.
4. THE POOR MAN'S GREATEST ADVANTAGE TO RICHES
The High Cost of Waiting
Time can be your worst enemy or greatest ally.
No matter where you are in life, the key to building wealth is to begin saving now. The sooner you begin, the less money you will need to put aside to achieve your Financial Independence Number (FIN).
5. GOOD DEBT VS. BAD DEBT
Debt Management
One of the biggest destroyers of wealth is debt – a silent plague that can rob you of your wealth and your ability to build it. There are two kinds of debt; one that can be leveraged to increase wealth, the other robs you of wealth. Know the difference!
Strategies to Escape the Debt Trap
- Don't buy a bigger house than you can afford - use the 2.5x annual income rule
- Don't buy a fancy car to impress the Jones
- Don't take expensive vacations
- Get your student loan ratio under control
- To accelerate credit card payments start by paying off smallest balance first and cascade savings into to the next card and then the next card, etc.
- Restructure high interest debt into tax-deductible low-interest debt
6. INVEST FOR TAX-ADVANTAGED INCOME
The Effects of Taxation
Besides debt and procrastination, one of the greatest enemies to building and maintaining wealth is taxation. What tax bucket you choose to deposit your money in can make a huge difference.
If you had to pay taxes on one of these three phases, which would you choose?
7. LAW OF LOSSES
Buy & Hold
Investing in the market entails risk and understanding drawdowns is essential to a successful investment strategy. Most people invest with a "Buy & Hold" approach, meaning that they ride along with the market highs and lows.
8. HAVE STOP - LOSS PROTECTION FOR YOUR INVESTMENTS
lack Swan Event -
Unpredictable events can ravage the financial markets and your portfolio.
Investing entails understanding market risk and the psychological effect it imposes. When you lose money, the loss registers as pain, the brain can create the impulse to "get out of the market." Having downside protection on your portfolio requires a specialized kind of professional money management known as tactical and/or dynamic management. Without it, you will be subjected to "Black Swan" events that are impossible to predict and have historically effected all asset classes negatively.
9. HOW INSURANCE PROTECTS YOUR INVESTMENTS
Adequate Insurance
One of the most overlooked elements of portfolio risk management is the failure to have adequate insurance so that if something happens to you, your plan to build wealth can continue on whether you are sick, disabled or die.
Earlier in life there are three major risks, but they tend to get smaller over time.
- Income replacement due to loss of a spouse
- Cost of college savings for children
- Paying off the mortgage and other debts
As we get older, other risks emerge and they tend to become more daunting over time.
- Outliving your money
- Rising costs of health care
- Reduction in social security and/or pension due to loss of a spouse
10. THE VALUE OF ADVICE
Studies have shown having an advisor to help develop and monitor a plan can produce better results over time. Some of the key factors have to do with managing expectations, staying focused on outcome rather than short-term market volatility with personalized advice through life events.
Source: "Value of an Advisor" study for 2017; Brad Jung, Russell Investments.
Your Wealth Formula
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Disclosures:
Secret #1 This is a conceptual/goal developed by Global View Capital Advisors, LTD. (“GVCA”) and is for illustrative purposes only. In no way does it offer, guarantee or otherwise imply wealth and is subjective. The concept of wealth must be defined on an individual basis.
Secret #2 Suggested ways to Find & Save Money is not an exhaustive list, these are just some of the strategies that can be deployed. Before taking action, clients should review such strategies with the appropriate professional legal, tax and financial advisor.
Secrets #3 All figures are for illustrative purposes only and do not reflect an actual investment in any product. They do not reflect the performance risks, expenses or charges associated with any actual investment. The Rule of 72 is a mathematical concept that approximates the number of years it would take to double the principal at a constant rate of return. The performance of investments fluctuates over time, and as a result, the actual time it will take an investment to double in value cannot be predicted with any certainty. Additionally, there are no guarantees that any investment or savings program can outpace inflation. Please note that high risk has been historically associated with high returns; although, past performance is not indicative of future results.
Secrets #4 All figures are for illustrative purposes only calculated at a hypothetical rate of return of 10% and do not reflect an actual investment in any product. They do not reflect the performance risks, expenses or charges associated with any actual investment. The performance of investments fluctuates over time, and as a result, the actual time it will take an investment to compound in value cannot be predicted with any certainty. Additionally, there are no guarantees that any investment or savings program can outpace inflation. Please note that high risk has been historically associated with high returns.
Secret #5 & #6 Tax and legal advice are not offered by GVCA. Please consult with your personal tax professional or legal advisor for further guidance on tax or legal matters.
Secret #7 Calculated by Global View Capital Management, LTD. (“GVCM”) with start date of January 1998 through December 2013 using the S&P 500 Price Index. Max Drawdown is the percentage drop from the highest level of equity to the lowest level (peak to trough) and months to recover. The S&P 500 Price Index is unmanaged and not available for direct investment. The index returns do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs, expenses or taxes.
Secret #8 Research by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a New York Times best-selling author, describes a Black Swan as a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: it is unpredictable; it carries a massive impact; and after the fact, we attempt to concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random and more predictable than it was. Chart calculated by GVCM using data from AdvisorGuide, LLC, the research firm founded by David H. Morton. David Morton is also a GVCM portfolio manager. In December 2015, GVCM acquired a 51% ownership stake in AdvisorGuide, LLC. The indices are unmanaged and not available for direct investment. These indices do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs, expenses or taxes.
Secret #9 For illustrative purposes only and does not reflect any actual investment or insurance product. The information is general in nature and should be reviewed by a financial professional to determine individual needs. Applicable state laws and regulations are complex and subject to change.
Secret #10 Personal financial advice should be reviewed by the appropriate professional which may entail legal, tax and financial advice.
©2017 Global View Capital Advisors, LTD. All rights reserved.