3 things you must know before you invest in anything!

I've had several clients and students tell me horror stories about things they've invested in and lost all of their money! Get rich schemes are at an all time high. There are people and systems out there set up to take your money!

Here are 3 questions that you must be able to answer before even considering giving your time and money into any financial investment:

1. How does your money go into the investment?
2. When your money gets in how and where does it make more money, increase in value, appreciate?
3. How do you get your money out of the investment?

The above three questions are the building blocks and will stir up other questions that you should ask before you invest any time or money. There is safety in sound advice, so always seek the help of a competent professional investment consultant before making your decision.

What kind of money schemes have you heard about or fallen prey to in the past?

What's better Security or Freedom?

Quick question for you?

Are you seeking "Financial Security" or "Financial Freedom"?

If someone would guarantee you, shelter, clothing, lights, water, a bed to sleep in and 3 meals a day would you be content? I call this financial security. Or "just getting by" mentality. Just enough. Paycheck to Paycheck living. Do you know what the most secure communities are on earth?

Answer: Prison!

Think about it! Your guaranteed: shelter, clothing, lights, water, a bed and 3 square meals a day! Prisoners are the most secure people in the world. But do they have "Freedom"? NO!
Prior to working with me many of my clients feel like financial prisoners.

I propose that you should be seeking "Financial Freedom"! That means renewing your mind about money, being free of keeping up with "The Jones's", becoming a giver, breaking free from debt and creating multiple streams of income!

So are you looking for "Financial Security" or Financial Freedom"?

Carlos Frank
Personal Financial Coach
Website: www.nextmoneystep.com

Did you finish yet?

One of the challenges I've had thru out my whole life is starting something and not completing it. I've found that if I start a lot of projects without completing them I get frustrated with myself. With so much left undone I didn't know where to start or which one to do first. So now I've challenged myself to finish a task before I begin the next one.

Have you done your spending plan? How about your savings plan? Your Debt snowball plan? How about call your insurance agent to lower your insurance costs?

Ask your self the following question then answer it:

What is the one thing that I've been putting off concerning my personal finances, that if I follow thru with it would have the most impact on my life?

Carlos Frank
Personal Financial Coach
Website: www.nextmoneystep.com

The best question to ask yourself!

What did I do today that got me the results that I wanted?

Pretty good question to ask yourself at the end of the day right? No not really! This is an even better question at the beginning of the day! Let's breakdown what asking this question at the beginning of the day will do for you:

1. You pull the future into the present
2. Help you prioritize your activities for the day
   
3. It makes you think about how you want your day to turn out.
4. It will help you eliminate things, people that will waste your time.
   

For example: I asked myself: "What did I do today that got me the results that I wanted?" My answer was that I finished my Personal Financial Coach brochure and that I wrote a very important letter and followed up on a client lead! By 1pm I accomplished all of them. With plenty of time left to other things!

So....What did you do today to get the results you wanted?

Carlos Frank
Personal Financial Coach
www.nextmoneystep.com

Get your free T-shirt

I remember back in college when I was walking to my next class, there was this guy and girl sitting outside the building. There was a bunch of people around them talking and they we're walking away with free t-shirts and pens! I wanted one to! So I stepped up to the line and asked "hey, how do I get one of those shirts?" I was told all I had to do was sign up to get a credit card and I'd get a shirt and pen for free and it would only take a couple of minutes!!!!!! Wahooooooo!!!!!

So 10 days later I'm wearing the free t-shirt (I've already lost the pen) and in the mail comes my credit card with a $500 limit! Wahoooooo.....dinner's on me! Four years later (I don't know where the shirt is) but I'm graduating and I have $1,200 of credit card debt! Wow talk about starting off on the wrong foot!

I've heard of some crazy things that these credit card companies give away to get you to sign up. What are somethings you've heard of?

How do you raise quick cash?

My wife and I are planning to have a garage sale this month to raise some quick cash for somethings that we need to get! That got me to thinking about how creative and powerful our mind is when we use it. I believe that credit cards, payday loan places and other easy credit companies rob us of our creativity! Think about it. It doesn't take a very creative person to pull out their credit card and make an impulse purchase.

What are some creative things you've done to raise some quick "debt free" cash?

You define prosperity.

What's your definition of prosperity?

In a world where your level of prosperity is judged by the car you drive, the neighborhood you live in and the clothes you wear. Most define prosperity by the stuff you have or don't have! You know...if you pull up to the class reunion with a shiny new car most people will say.."uhhhhh there doing good!". But little do they know the turmoil that going on inside! The mounting debt, pressure at work, failing marriage and everything else that life throws at you!

My tag line is "Live Debt Free & Prosperous"! I believe that I should define the word prosperous, as I see it.

When I use the confession (or some say affirmation), "I'm debt free and prosperous", I mean the following:

1. I have a loving wife that loves me!
2. I have awesome kids that love me!
3. I have great health. (My wife still wants me to visit the doctor more but hey, my life insurance company said I was a "super preferred" client!)
4. I have a group of friends that I can call on and trust.
5. My spiritual walk is ever improving thru prayer and reading the Word.
6. Oh yeah, money works for me, I don't work for money!
7. I'm free from stuff and money!

To limit prosperity to just money is incorrect. True prosperity does not only involve money it involves every area of your life. Am I perfect in the above areas I listed? Far from it, but now because I have my priorities straight and money is no longer number 1, I have found true prosperity!

What's your definition of prosperity?

Carlos Frank
Personal Financial Coach
http://www.nextmoneystep.com/

100 Billion Burgers Sold!

Many business owners ask me, "Carlos how can we increase our revenue??" I answer their question with a question, "How many people are you helping?"

My observation is that the wealthiest people on this Earth are the people and companies who help the most people! Think about how many people McDonald's, Wal-Mart and Microsoft help everyday then look at their revenues. McDonald's claims to have served over 100 billion burgers since it opened in 1940. It estimates that it serves over 47 million people a day! Millions of people shop at Wal-Mart every day! Millions of people use a form of Microsoft Windows every day! They all help millions of people acquire something! Whether it be a hamburger or a quicker way to process a document! In return of helping millions of people, they are some of the wealthiest most admired companies in the world!

So, how many people are you helping? I believe that all of us contain knowledge that someone else is looking for! In other words someone or many people are looking for you! There's wisdom inside of you........there's a book inside of you! You don't have to be McDonald's and serve millions everyday! But you could eventually! So how many people are you going to help?

Carlos Frank
Personal Financial Coach
Website: www.nextmoneystep.com

Your not thinking, are you?

Let me ask you a question? Do you ever take time to think?

I'm talking about the type of thinking you do when you sit down in a quite place and concentrate on one matter or issue at hand and how to solve it or improve on it. Many of us desire multiple streams of income, but have you actually taken time to think of ways to make it a reality? Remember in school we used to call it "Brainstorming"

I take my clients and my students thru an exercise that gets them to come up with ideas to create more income and save more money. Prior to the exercise they have very few ideas if any but in less than 5 minutes they come up with dozens!

Here's how to do it:

1. Have a pen and paper ready (a goal in your head is only a fantasy until you get it on paper)
2. Pick a quite place where you will not be disturbed for 5 minutes
3. Clear your mind and prepare to focus on only one thing
4. Now ask your self the following question: What can I do to increase my income and create multiple streams of income in my life? Then LISTEN!
5. Write down everything that comes to your head! Do not leave anything out. Nothing is to crazy (ever heard of the Chia Pet?) and all things are possible. Now is not the time to figure out the "how will this come to pass". Right now is the time to write it down!
6. Take immediate action on the idea that gives you the most energy!

So what did you come up with?

Live Debt Free & Prosperous,

Carlos Frank - Financial Coach

website: www.nextmoneystep.com

Who's taking your Money?

The system is set up to not only keep you in debt but to separate you from the money that worked so hard for. Advertisers are literally banking on our the populations got to have it now mentality. Billboards, radio, tv ads, the internet all set up to take your money! Why else would companies pay $3,000,000 ($3 Million) to advertise for 30 seconds during the Super Bowl! It's all about "branding" there product or service in your head so that you will spend, spend, spend!We live in a got to have it now, no matter what the costs society:

• Don't hold up the line"Life takes Visa"
• Lose 10 pounds in 1 day
• Make $10,000 a month in less than a month
• Get rich on the stock market by "Day Trading"
• Act now! While there's still time!
• .....only 90 second's left to take advantage of this great buy! (Hold on I just saw that same commercial 10 minutes ago)

Here's a list 25 of things that are set up to tear you away from your money!

1. Income Tax (mainly from Government overspending)
   
2. Sales Tax
3. Taxes on everything!
   
4. Bank Fee's
5. Overdraft fees
6. Non- sufficient fund fees
7. Interest on Debt
8. Over limit fee's on credit cards
9. Clearance sales
10. get rich quick schemes,
11. wire fee's
12. check cashing fees
13. toll roads
14. Casino's
15. Gas Tax
16. Capital Gains Tax
17. Estate Tax
18. Late fee's
19. family and friends
20. rent to own places
21. pay day loans
22. prepayment penalties
23. drug dealers (legal and illegal)
24. hidden fees
25. applications fees

This list can go on forever! Remember though at the end of the day, you have to decide what to do with your money! Advertisers just pay big bucks to make suggestions! If you don't have a plan for your money they definitely do!

Live Debt Free & Prosperous,

Carlos Frank
Financial Coach
Website: http://www.nextmoneystep.com/
Picasa Web Album: http://picasaweb.google.com/nextmoneystep/NextMoneyStep#

You might be a slave and might not even know it!

The rich ruleth over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender!
Proverbs 22:7

Very strong words and no matter what your belief, very true if you think about it! Let's see what happens when you sign up for a mortgage, car loan, line of credit, credit card, charge card, HELOC, Prime Equity Line, Personal loan, Pay day loan...........

1. The lender tells you what date you must pay them by (due date)
   
2. The lender tells you how much to pay them (minimum payment)
   
3. The lender tells you how you can pay them
   
4. The lender tells you for how long you will have to pay them (Loan term)
   
5. The lender tells you how much interest you will pay back (APR)
   
6. The lender tells you that if you don't pay there will be consequences (repo, foreclosure)
   
7. The lender has the right to review your credit pretty much whenever they want
8. The lender has the right to make adjustments to the "debt product" you have (just read the fine print. Ever had a credit card interest go up?)
9. The lender can even punish you for paying your loan off early! (Prepayment Penalty)
10. The lender will sue you if you don't repay

Sounds like slavery to me! That's why I call getting into debt "Volunteer Slavery!" This is evidenced even more with the current bailout talks! Debt is a banks and this countries #1 product. They say we must have this bailout so banks will lend money out again! So they are saying that if banks aren't freed up to get people like you and me, businesses and even governments in more debt that the economy will crash! WOW.......think about it!

Harritet Tubman said: “I freed a thousand slaves I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.”

Do you know? Don't you think it's time to live Debt Free & Prosperous?

Carlos Frank
Financial Coach
Email: carlos@nextmoneystep.com
Website: www.nextmoneystep.com

I Support a Bailout Plan

I can't watch the news or listen to the radio for more than 5 minutes without hearing about the current state of our economy! Gas prices are high, real estate is slow, banks are closing, foreclosures and this $700 Billion bailout that people either strongly appose or support.

My opinion: I strongly support a bailout!
But I'm not talking about $700 Billion Government Bailout, I'm talking about each household in America putting together their own personal economic bailout plan together and bail themselves out of bad personal financial decision making! Here's the thing, no matter what the government decides to do, government bailout or no government bailout, at the end of the day you still have to control your own personal economy! YOUR HOUSEHOLD BUDGET!

Here's a Personal Economic Bailout Plan:

Money Step 1: Get your financial house in order
Money Step 2: Save $1000 for an Emergency Fund
Money Step 3: Payoff all your consumer debt
Money Step 4: Build Saving to 3-6 months of living expenses
Money Step 5: Save 15% towards Retirement
Money Step 6: Save for College
Money Step 7: Payoff your Mortgage


So my question to you is: These type of economic cycles come around about every 10 years, what are you going to be doing different financially when/if this happens again?

Live Debt Free & Prosperous!