What does wealth mean to you? Use these quotes from famous people to think about what it means to be wealthy.

1. Man was born to be rich, or inevitably to grow rich, through the use of his faculties. Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. Wealth is not a material gain, but a state of mind. Jerry Gillies

3. Wealth is the accumulation of possibilities. – Writer in Mexico

4. There is wealth within the sound of your voice. Russell Conwell

5. Wealth comes from knowing what others do not know. Aristotle Onasis

6. Never forget: the secret of creating riches for oneself is to create them for others. Sir John Templeton

7. Every person who gets rich by creation opens a way for thousands to follow and inspires them to do so. – Wallace D. Wattles

8. The great road to wealth is to learn useful facts. – M.R. Kopmeyer

9. Money is for making things happen. Richard Branson

10. When you realize that prosperity is your divine heritage, you should persist in claiming it. Catherine Ponder

11. No one can become rich without enriching others. Anyone who adds to prosperity must prosper in turn. G. Alexander Orndorff

12. If you are not as wealthy as you like, there is something you dont know. David Wood

13. Priorities lead to prosperity. Michelle Singletary

14. Ideas will be the major source of new wealth. Brian Tracy

15. Study well what the billionaire does. It may make you a millionaire. John Emmerling

16. Wealth is largely a result of habit. John Jacob Astor

17. Wealth is the product of man’s capacity to think. Ayn Rand

18. Wealth is not a matter of intelligence it’s a matter of inspiration. Jim Rohn

19. Money is like manure; it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around encouraging young things to grow. Thorton Wilder

20. The way to wealth depends on just two words, industry and frugality. Benjamin Franklin

21. Today the greatest single source of wealth is between your ears. Brian Tracy

22. Wealth is power. With wealth many things are possible. George Clason

23. The real source of wealth and capital in this new era is not material things.. it is the human mind, the human spirit, the human imagination, and our faith in the future. Steve Forbes

24. Wealth is the ability to fully experience life. Henry David Thoreau

25. Wealth is the product of energy times intelligence: energy turned into artifacts that “advantage” human life. – Buckminster Fuller

26. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and, hence, is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Abraham Lincoln

27. The way to become rich is to put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket. Andrew Carnegie

28. Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune. Jim Rohn

29. I have about concluded that wealth is a state of mind, and that anyone can acquire a wealthy state of mind by thinking rich thoughts. Andrew Young

30. It requires a great deal of boldness and a great deal of caution to make a great fortune, and when you have it, it requires ten times as much skill to keep it. Ralph Waldo Emerson

31. Don’t let the opinions of the average man sway you. Dream and he thinks you’re crazy. Succeed, and he thinks you’re lucky. Acquire wealth, and he thinks you’re greedy. Pay no attention. He simply doesn’t understand. Robert Allen

32. Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. The act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth. Peter Drucker

33. Wealth flows from energy and ideas. William Feather

34. If you see yourself as prosperous, you will be. If you see yourself as continually hard up, that is exactly what you will be. Robert Collier

35. Wealth is in applications of mind to nature; and the art of getting rich consists not in industry, much less in saving, but in a better order, in timeliness, in being at the right spot. Ralph Waldo Emerson

36. Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I’m not there, I go to work. Robert Orben

37. Seek wealth, its good. Ivan Boesky

38. Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 1:2

39. Wealth is not in making money, but in making the man while he is making the money.- John Wicker

40. Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. Proverbs 10:4

Author: Vernon Myers
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When somebody mentions a ‘Free Investment Seminar’ what is the first thing that pops into your head? Most people’s initial reaction is ‘SCAM’. Our parents have taught us that ‘nothing in life is for free’, so why on earth would somebody want to give us valuable information and not expect to get anything in return? Then just as we are about to completely dismiss this idea of a free investment seminar the optimist within us pops up and makes us think twice “maybe they do genuinely want to help me”?

So the question still remains, if you see a Free Investment Seminar what should you do? Go and see what it’s all about or would that be a waste of your money. You might be asking how can a free investment seminar be a waste of money when it is free? I believe that the most important and expensive thing in our life is ‘time’, remember the saying ‘time is money’. Therefore if I go to a free investment seminar I don’t learn anything then technically I have wasted my money. Secondly is there really such a thing as a ‘Free Investment Seminar’? Surely nothing in life is really for free? Is it?

It probably is true that a free investment seminar is going to have some sort of catch or back ended product that the speaker will be trying to sell, but is does this mean that you shouldn’t attend? Yes and No, I have attended many free seminars and from my experience about 70% were very beneficial. On the other hand there is nothing worse than sitting through a few hours of a long winded sales pitch, so if this is the case I would recommend that you stop wasting your time (money) and leave.

If the speaker is honest and upfront then you should be able to gain valuable knowledge whether or not you buy the product. Why is it then that the majority of people who attend Free Investment Seminars don’t even come close to achieving results that the seminar proclaims they can? This might sound strange but I believe that the reason is because the seminar was free in the first place. Let me explain myself – In order to get ‘value’ into your life you need to ‘invest’ something. The more you invest into something the more you expect to gain form it. Have you ever been lucky enough to find some money? If you have, can you remember if placed the same level of value onto your ‘free’ money compared to the money that you had to work hard for? Probably not, instead you might have spent it on something you usually wouldn’t buy simply because you didn’t have to ‘invest’ anything to get the money. So does this mean that free investment seminars are a waste of time? No, it means two things

1. The impact of things are not directly related to their price tag
2. People need to value their ‘time’ more and consider anything they do to be an investment.

There are a few distinctions that I would like to make clear about the above statement’s. This does not mean that you will never have to pay for good information and it definitely doesn’t mean that you should listen to advice from anyone.

“The most expensive advice you will ever get, is free from poor people” – Kurek Ashley

Unfortunately this is one of the main reasons why lots of poor people will remain poor. If you told your friends that you were going to go to a free investment seminar they would probably laugh and you and tell you that it’s a scam. It is up to you to be strong enough to make your own mind up. Who knows it may turn out to be a scam but if you approach things with an open mind you never know what you might learn. Always remember – steer clear of expensive advice from poor people and be open to free advice from rich people. Who knows that free investment seminar might be worth wasting your time on after all.

Author: Banjo Smyth
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Within this age of falling economic indicators and ever escalating credit card bills for the average American consumer, debt management has become something of a hot topic everywhere from water coolers to bar stools, but there are a host of different methods surrounding debt management. Everything from bankruptcy to home mortgage refinancing to payday loans could reasonably be considered a form of debt management, but, within the scope of our current essay, we shall concentrate upon those types of debt management that consolidate unsecured (meaning, those loans without property attached) revolving debts through a series of negotiations with the lenders by a third party debt specialist. Credit card representatives are surprisingly open to bartering when properly cajoled by experienced debt management professionals, and, depending upon which program you choose, your interest rates and sometimes even your actual balances may be reduced significantly through these negotiations. The principal forms of this sort of debt management are Consumer Credit Counseling and Debt Settlement. Both strategies consolidate existing loans while attempting to decrease the overall money that is owed – though, to tell the truth, Debt Settlement (not accepting funds from credit card companies, unlike the lender subsidized Credit Card Counseling industry) has a far better success rate for actually diminishing the financial obligations.

To a point, consumers can endeavor to attempt this sort of thing themselves. Certainly, representatives of the unsecured creditors will be open to conversation about the consumers’ renewed attention toward paying off their debts and will often shrug away interest rate reductions or waivers of past fees. However, unless you include a certified debt management company, it’s unlikely that you shall be able to truly lower the amount of the burdens. This is the importance of the consolidation effect. Debt management companies – Debt Settlement companies, particularly – can wield their leverage so effectively primarily because, since they’ve already consolidated all the various debts from the borrowers, each lender knows that they will be surrendering no more than their competitors. It’s not exactly that lenders do not care about retaining the rights to whatever money’s owed at whatever interest rate was originally agreed upon, but those lenders also understand that – however weakened after the legislation of past year – Chapter 7 bankruptcy debt elimination does still exist. As long as there is some semblance of bankruptcy protection, however unlikely the chance or unpalatable the option, each borrower has the potential of declaring bankruptcy protection and legally abandoning all credit card accounts. The credit card companies are under no obligation to make such offers, of course, and a few lenders yet refuse to negotiate with Debt Settlement counselors nor decrease current credit accounts regardless of the threat.

Since debt management remains such a relatively young field, many consumers are rightly concerned about how to go about selecting a company to work with. It’s not like you can just ask your grandfather for advice on debt management the same way you’d expect him to have knowledge of loan officers or accountants. To a certain point, one has to trust instinct when choosing the firm and the counselor with whom you’re – in a very real way – entrusting your family’s financial future, but there are ways to verify the company’s qualifications before starting the process. The Better Business Bureau and several federal agencies maintain records of prior clients’ disapproval. The internet tends to highlight negative features of virtually every enterprise. Consumer Credit Counseling agencies, the past three years, have become an essential part of the bankruptcy declaration – pointless courses are now required before and after Chapter 7 debt elimination – and, through this unexpected turn of events, the more legitimate Consumer Credit Counseling firms must now undergo Justice Department scrutiny and approval in order to be considered for this (highly profitable) secondary purpose. Consumer Credit Counseling companies that do not bother to request government certification likely either have something to hide or display a laziness that in itself should be a warning sign. Debt Settlement companies, while they are not subject to the same governmental scrutiny, maintain their own national organization which subjects members to a rigorous bout of testing before certification would be awarded.

In the most basic possible explanation, the Debt Settlement approach attempts to negotiate lower balances from the creditors in exchange for a heightened payment schedule (and hefty tax write off for the lender, naturally). While the Debt Settlement method does carry alongside a deleterious effect as regards credit reports and FICO scores, the worsened credit rating is still relatively minimal compared to most other debt management solutions. Many of the unsecured lenders – we’re largely talking, once again, about credit card accounts – try to woo problem spenders and delinquent borrowers through offers of one-time lump sum payments that greatly diminish overall balances but those balance are not then reported as ’satisfied’ to the credit bureaus, Indeed, while these sorts of shenanigans may technically be considered debt management, they are often falsely named debt consolidation when in fact the practice actually resembles a last ditch scheme of desperation on the part of the borrower and the lender. This sort of debt management approach is thought to be the last refuge of the wicked, and your credit report shall reflect this.

As long as you do not overly upset the household budget nor forget to save some additional funds for medical emergencies and the like, each borrower should do what it takes to pay off their loans as swiftly as possible with the worst interest rates tackled first. While tax liens and court mandated burdens cannot be avoided – after all, the ultimate consequence for ignoring those debts is rather more severe than purely lowered FICO scores – there’s also little reason to pay much more than the minimum. Governmental debts generally feature very low interest and court representatives are surprisingly willing to extend terms and lower payments so as to not too greatly inconvenience the debtor, and the same can be said for most (typically community or state monitored) utility companies. Utilities, it should be said, also tend to forget to report late payments to the three credit bureaus, but the same cannot be said for real estate loans or other secured debts. You need to make sure your mortgage, especially considering the current boom market for foreclosures, is paid precisely on time (mortgage lenders, already tending toward the predatory, love nothing more than to ruin their borrowers’ credit scores so as to prevent future refinancing), but, even so, you shouldn’t concern yourself with getting rid of secured loans too quickly. They look the best upon credit reports, they appreciate in value (apart from automobiles, of course) and they tend to have the best interest rates.

Credit cards should be the primary focus of proper debt management, and, to really strike a blow against the various lenders, you should probably consider one of the debt consolidation techniques that are increasingly popular for Americans of all walks of life. To be sure, you can talk to credit card companies on your own, but, as we said earlier, they are far less likely to treat settlement negotiations with amateurs as seriously as they would an experienced (and, with regards to the new debt settlement industry, certified) debt management profession. Even so, you have to remember that there are many different forms of consolidation out there and an equal number of possible results to be had from your efforts. So many consumers walk blindly into Consumer Credit Counseling offices after being pummeled by the endless succession of advertisements and are immediately talked into signing on in order to receive the lower interest rates (and, more importantly, the vastly lowered payments made available) without actually thinking over whether or not the program is right for them. There are FICO score issues to be discussed – Consumer Credit Counseling actually shows up worse than bankruptcy protection when written upon credit reports – and the question of whether or not such a program would actually aid your finances in the long view.

Remember, while interest rates will almost assuredly be lowered well below what the credit card companies charge, there are fees involved with Consumer Credit Counseling (apart from whatever they charge the credit card companies; yes, it’s a very profitable enterprise) that do not always make up for the comparatively lessened interest rates. At the same time, while the payments will almost always be substantially lower through any Consumer Credit Counseling consolidation program, that’s often because the terms are extended to such a degree that – even if the interest has been dramatically shaved – the borrower will still end up paying more money over the course over the loan. Particularly for debtors that already have demonstrated problems with their buying habits, lower monthly minimums are not necessarily in the debtors’ best interests. Consumers prone to purchasing binges should not always have more spending money made available to them when they have not addressed the underlying causes that first landed them in the predicament of needing debt management assistance. Much of the time, you would be better suited by merely taking care of the bills at hand – with credit card remaining the priority – rather than paying additional money for one company to artificially lengthen the repayment process. At the very least, take care to investigate the Debt Settlement approach and indulge a free initial consultation to distinguish their possibilities when compared to Consumer Credit Counseling.

Even after the approach has been decided upon and the company of choice has been, as they say, vetted, there are, still, several things to watch out for regardless of the business’ standing within the community or their previous dealings with friends and family. Remember, no matter how legitimate the company, you are personally dealing with a debt specialist working for that company, and, regardless of the organizational guidelines, even the best firms may sometimes hire counselors that are striving to get ahead above and beyond the purposes of their client. Once again, you must get everything – EVERY LAST DETAIL – written down and fully documented to prevent potential abuse from less than competent assistance. Ensure, through recorded agreements, that the creditors shall be paid each month on time as promised so that the debt management company knows that they themselves will be held liable for any potential slip ups. If the debt management firm says that the creditors insist upon an initial payment toward said debt management firm prior to negotiation (which does occasionally happen), ask to see the paperwork – or, better, talk to the lender yourself and verify precisely what they want.

Do not agree to any program necessitating stipends that you believe your household cannot regularly meet. It is the responsibility of the debt management company to calculate a budget that recognizes the day to day expenses their clients of yet and does not stipulate a monthly payment that overly restricts the availability of their funds. So much of debt management revolves around proper budgeting, and the counselor has to be considerate of their clients’ needs. While you should not thoroughly respect any program that allows overly lax terms (minimizing payments without touching the balances of your credit card debts, after all, only increases the eventual sums to be paid once compound interest continually adds up), you have to make sure that the payments are still comfortable for the household throughout the year. As well, you should know that most of the more effective debt management solutions force their clients to refrain from additional borrowing over the course of the program. Once again, this philosophy changes alongside the debt relief approach that you choose, but you’d probably better assume that, while within the debt management proceedings, you will not be allowed to take out further loans.

If anything we have written sticks with you, it should be this: document on paper ever single element of debt management. Even prior to accepting one program or another, you should receive a written estimate that details every single fee the debt management company may charge. However comfortable and friendly the debt counselor that you plan to work with may seem, do remember that the most successful financial professionals essentially ask for as much as they think the borrower is willing (or able) to pay. No matter your relationship with the debt management specialist handling your case, demand a legal documentation of everything discussed. It’s just common sense, really. Even if your counselor genuinely is legitimate and beyond reproach, the debt management company itself may have institutional guidelines that attempt to slip in unnecessary charges hidden in the fine print. The eventual quote can’t be analyzed too closely. If you aren’t sufficiently familiar with the verbiage or concepts surrounding the debt management contract, ask friends or even acquaintances for assistance. Make absolutely sure that this is the program that you want to join and that this is the company you wish to work with for a number of years. Once you sign up for a debt management program, it’s not exactly a life partnership, but the repercussions shall be felt for years to come should things go poorly.

Author: Cole Collins
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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There are so many actions which you can take today, which will enable you to live a financially abundant future or not. Simple actions can make you wealthy now and in the long term.

In this article, you will find:

* What Is Real Wealth?

* Passive Wealth And Active Wealth

* Investment Strategies To Become Wealthy

* What Is Real Wealth?

Money is a symbol, but for many people, money = rich. Rich is loads of money, but wealth is totally different. You see, winning the lottery makes you rich, but it does not in no way make you wealthy!

Knowing the principles of wealth will always serve you. How is it that men such as Donald Trump can come to a point near to bankruptcy and still turn richer than before, and how others can actually go from poverty, no home, and no money, into some of the richest people on Earth? No doubt mindset has a big part to play, but it is also the principles as well.

The wealth principles are same as they always been. So knowing things like compound interest will serve you in relationships as well as with money. Knowing that more harmonious your interactions are with others, will allow you to have more harmony in the world; likewise good and regular investment into savings or other wealth building strategies and techniques will make you wealthy.

* Passive Wealth And Active Wealth

There are 2 types of wealth building principle. One is passive wealth and active wealth. One requires money, while the other requires time. So we have a general formula:

Passive Wealth = Money

Active Wealth = Time

Passive wealth could be thought of as a bank account that pays high interest. You add the money, and passively it grows. You can look back in 10 years and find that constant addition made you a nice growing wealth.

Active wealth can be thought of as something that needs your attention. More attention, the more likely the interest you receive. Yes a high yielding savings account needs your attention when adding money, however it is very small time needed. Your interest you receive is likewise small. In a home business, you need to add time, and effort, this investment ends up yielding people around 30% a year (at least in direct mail, I have found).

* Investment Strategies To Become Wealthy

You need to have a balance of both. Having passive wealth strategies is great; the only problem is that you need money. Everyone starts from nothing and has to grow there own personal wealth. The majority leaves the passive wealth strategy for decades, and likewise wealth is a foreign term!

When you utilize such an old wealth strategy as save 10% and get wealthy, you get exactly that, you get wealthy. When you have a business, and work to make it a success, you get wealthy.

There are so many strategies and tactics. There are real estate, high yielding savings accounts in Switzerland, and MLM. There are HYIP programs that say they will make you wealthy, and of course the stock exchange. They all need to be known by you, you need to create a strategy based on your needs. And remember to always add to them.

Author: Koz Huseyin
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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To begin your retirement investor portfolio, the beginner investor asks the following question: “How much do I need to have in my portfolio to comfortably retire?” It is not easy to come up with this future dollar amount! There are many factors that influence the answer: age at retirement, your present income, your retirement lifestyle, and how aggressively you wish to build your retirement investor portfolio.

Planning your retirement investor portfolio is one of the most important financial decisions you will make in your lifetime. It is easy to get caught up in the financial needs of the present and put off thinking about how you will manage financially once you hit retirement age. Most of us cannot afford to rely on any one entity or company benefit to shield us from the financial expectations and obligations of retirement; we must grab the retirement bull by the horns and make sure that we will be financially prepared and comfortable on that first day of our retirement.

The Basic Types of Retirement Plans

There are different types of ways to save up for your retirement they include employer offered plans, government retirement plans and individually sponsored retirement plans. They all have excellent retirement investor incentives. Two plans you may run across as a beginner in retirement investing are the 401k and the IRA.

401k

This is a voluntary retirement plan that is often offered by employers to their employees. This plan allows for a set amount of your pretax pay to be set aside as a retirement investment. The funds and the growth on those funds are not taxed until your withdraw the funds at retirement. Most employers will match your contributions or match a percent of your contributions each year. There are restrictions that apply to when and how you can withdraw from your 401k without suffering penalties. You do the management of this type of fund.

IRA

This plan allows an annual contribution of 100% of earned income but only to a specified maximum amount. Traditional IRA’s may be deducted from income tax, depending on your income and any coverage that your employer has sponsored if any. Depending on the type of IRA you have selected the earnings may be tax-differed or even tax-free. You have to investigate each type of IRA to determine the tax and income benefit of each before selecting what type fits your portfolio best.

As always there are professionals in the Investment field that can help and guide you through the multiple choices available to you. You should take advantage of this help always remembering that what you do today will definitely have an impact on your lifestyle at retirement. Starting as early as possible is the key along with systematic savings. If you tithe to your church then by all means tithe for your future and that of your family. A comfortable old age is your goal. As worry free as possible.

Author: James Cone
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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You may have to kill old debts that resurrect and come back to life.Zombie debt may include past debts that you owe, charged-off debt, debt included in bankruptcy, debt you may have never owed and even debts incurred due to identity theft. Zombie debt involves collection agencies purchasing debts for pennies on the dollar that original creditors have written off as bad debt and often times the statute of limitations has already run.

Debt buying has emerged into a multi-billion dollar industry in the past several years and from the looks of it, the industry will only continue to expand. Junk debt buyers can be small businesses to large, publicly traded Wall street companies and the characters involved in this lucrative business are banking on the consumer not knowing their rights. If you are contacted about an old debt or debt you are unaware of here are a few things you can do:

1. Do not acknowledge you owe the debt. Simply acknowledging the debt or agreeing to pay a portion of the debt can ruin your credit. Negative marks can stay on your credit for up to 7 years. By paying a portion of that debt you restart the 7 year clock. If you are nearing the 7 year mark it may be best to do nothing at all. Let it drop from your credit reports.

2. Ignore the phone calls completely. Talking to them may open up a can of worms. Speaking with debt collectors may end up restarting or extending the statute of limitations on the debt in addition to restarting the time period a negative mark can stay on your credit.Remember, if the statute of limitations has run on a debt you cannot be sued for that debt.

3. Stop the calls.If the telephone calls continue, immediately write a letter, certified, return receipt, demanding the collection agency cease all telephonic contact with you. Make sure you clearly state in the letter that you do not agree you owe the debt nor are you acknowledging you owe the debt. Federal law dictates collection agencies must comply when you request they do not contact you via telephone.

4. Check your credit reports. Collection agencies will often stoop to low, illegal tactics to try to get you to pay a debt. Watch out for re-aging of the old debt on your credit reports. The collection agencies will report the old debt to the credit bureaus as a new debt and try to extend the seven-year reporting limit on negative items. Remember, negative items such as late payments and charge-offs can only be reported on your credit report for 7 years. Bankruptcies can be reported for 10 years unpaid tax liens can stay up to 15 years.

5. Debt Validation. Request the collection agency validate the debt. Debt validation forces the debt collector to produce a copy of the original signed contract such as the credit card agreement and the account history of the debt. They cannot simply produce some printed copy of their bill or invoice, it must be from the original creditor. Also, request proof they are licensed in your State to perform debt collection. If the collection agency cannot produce proof you owe the debt, they are violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and can be sued. And, any negative entry they reported to the credit bureaus regarding this debt must be removed from your credit reports.

6. Negotiate cautiously. If you want to pay the debt, be very careful in your negotiations and get everything in writing. Remember the collection agencies purchased the debt for pennies on the dollar so anything you offer over that amount is all profit. You want to proceed with negation with intense caution because collection agencies are tricky. Debt collectors may settle for a smaller amount then turn around and sell the remaining debt to another collection agency or even worse, the collection agency could report the remainder of the debt to the IRS as “income”.

7. False promises by the collection agency. Not surprisingly, some debt collectors use dirty, underhanded tactics to collect debt. Many simply lie to the consumer and promise to remove negative credit entries in exchange for payment. Know your rights and get everything in writing. Always negotiate a full deletion of any and all negative entries reported on your credit report of this debt. Cover your bases and make sure the debt collector is not going to sell the unpaid portion of the debt to another company. To learn more aboutsettling old debts for pennies on the dollarvisit: Debt Settlement

Author: Lisa Phillips
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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